Water soluble paclitaxel derivatives

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are water soluble compositions of paclitaxel and docetaxel formed by conjugating the paclitaxel or docetaxel to a water soluble polymer such as poly-glutamic acid, poly-aspartic acid or poly-lysine. Also disclosed are methods of using the compositions for treatment of tumors, auto-immune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis. Other embodiments include the coating of implantable stents for prevention of restenosis.

This application is a continuation-in-part of application U.S. Ser. No.08/815,104 filed Mar. 11, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,977,163; which is acontinuation of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/013,184, filed Mar.12, 1996, which applications are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the fields of pharmaceuticalcompositions to be used in the treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseasesand restenosis. The present invention also relates to the field ofpharmaceutical preparations of anticancer agents such as paclitaxel(Taxol™) and docetaxel (Taxotere), in particular making paclitaxel watersoluble by conjugating the drug to water soluble moieties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Paclitaxel, an anti-microtubule agent extracted from the needles andbark of the Pacific yew tree, Taxus brevifolia, has shown a remarkableanti-neoplastic effect in human cancer in Phase I studies and earlyPhase II and III trials (Horwitz et al., 1993). This has been reportedprimarily in advanced ovarian and breast cancer. Significant activityhas been documented in small-cell and non-small cell lung cancer, headand neck cancers, and in metastatic melanoma. However, a majordifficulty in the development of paclitaxel for clinical trial use hasbeen its insolubility in water.

Docetaxel is semisynthetically produced from 10-deacetyl baccatin III, anoncytotoxic precursor extracted from the needles of Taxus baccata andesterified with a chemically synthesized side chain (Cortes and Pazdur,1995). Various cancer cell lines, including breast, lung, ovarian, andcolorectal cancers and melanomas have been shown to be responsive todocetaxel. In clinical trials, docetaxel has been used to achievecomplete or partial responses in breast, ovarian, head and neck cancers,and malignant melanoma.

Paclitaxel is typically formulated as a concentrated solution containingpaclitaxel, 6 mg per milliliter of Cremophor EL (polyoxyethylated castoroil) and dehydrated alcohol (50% v/v) and must be further diluted beforeadministration (Goldspiel, 1994). Paclitaxel (Taxol™) has shownsignificant activity in human cancers, including breast, ovarian,non-small cell lung, and head and neck cancers (Rowinsky and Donehower,1995). It has also shown significant activity in patients with advancedbreast cancer who had been treated with multiple chemotherapeutic agents(Foa et al., 1994). As with most chemotherapeutic agents, however, themaximum tolerated dose of paclitaxel is limited by toxicity. In humans,paclitaxel's major toxic effect at doses of 100-250 mg/m² isgranulocytopenia (Holmes et al., 1995); symptomatic peripheralneuropathy is its principal nonhematologic toxicity (Rowinsky et al.,1993).

The amount of Cremophor EL necessary to deliver the required doses ofpaclitaxel is significantly higher than that administered with any otherdrug that is formulated in Cremophor. Several toxic effects have beenattributed to Cremophor, including vasodilatation, dyspnea, andhypotension. This vehicle has also been shown to cause serioushypersensitivity in laboratory animals and humans (Weiss et al., 1990).In fact, the maximum dose of paclitaxel that can be administered to miceby i.v. bolus injection is dictated by the acute lethal toxicity of theCremophor vehicle (Eiseman et al., 1994). In addition, Cremophor EL, asurfactant, is known to leach phthalate plasticizers such asdi(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) from the polyvinylchloride bags andintravenous administration tubing. DEHP is known to cause hepatotoxicityin animals and is carcinogenic in rodents. This preparation ofpaclitaxel is also shown to form particulate matter over time and thusfiltration is necessary during administration (Goldspiel, 1994).Therefore, special provisions are necessary for the preparation andadministration of paclitaxel solutions to ensure safe drug delivery topatients, and these provisions inevitably lead to higher costs.

Prior attempts to obtain water soluble paclitaxel have included thepreparation of prodrugs of paclitaxel by placing solubilizing moietiessuch as succinate, sulfonic acid, amino acids, and phosphate derivativesat the 2′-hydroxyl group or at the 7-hydroxyl position (Deutsch et al.,1989; Mathew et al., Zhao and Kingston, 1991, 1992; Nicolaou et al.,1993; Vyas et al., 1995, Rose et al., 1997). While some of theseprodrugs possess adequate aqueous solubility, few have antitumoractivity comparable to that of the parent drug (Deutsch et al., 1989;Mathew et al., 1992; Rose et al., 1997). Several of these derivativesare not suitable for i.v. injection because of their instability inaqueous solution at neutral pH. For example, Deutsch et al. (1989)report a 2′-succinate derivative of paclitaxel, but water solubility ofthe sodium salt is only about 0.1% and the triethanolamine andN-methylglucamine salts were soluble at only about 1%. In addition,amino acid esters were reported to be unstable. Similar results werereported by Mathew et al. (1992).

Recently, Nicolaou et al. (1993) reported the synthesis and in vitrobiological evaluation of a novel type of prodrug termed “protaxols”.These compounds possess greater aqueous solubility and are converted topaclitaxel as the active drug through an intramolecular hydrolysismechanism. However, no in vivo data on the antitumor activity ofprotaxols are yet available. Greenwald et al. reported the synthesis ofhighly water-soluble 2′ and 7-polyethylene glycol esters of paclitaxel(Greenwald et al., 1994). Using the strategy of polymer linkage, othershave developed water-soluble polyethylene glycol (PEG)-conjugatedpaclitaxel (Li et al., 1996; Greenwald et al., 1996). Although theseconjugates have excellent water solubility, their therapeutic efficaciesare not better than free paclitaxel. Moreover, PEG has only two reactivefunctional groups at each end of its polymer chain, which effectivelylimit the amount of paclitaxel that PEG could carry (U.S. Pat. No.5,362,831).

Other attempts to solve these problems have involved microencapsulationof paclitaxel in both liposomes and nanospheres (Bartoni and Boitard,1990). The liposome formulation was reported to be as effective as freepaclitaxel, however only liposome formulations containing less than 2%paclitaxel were physically stable (Sharma and Straubinger, 1994).Unfortunately, the nanosphere formulation proved to be toxic. There isstill a need therefore for a water soluble paclitaxel formulation thatcan deliver effective amounts of paclitaxel and docetaxel without thedisadvantages caused by the insolubility of the drug.

Another obstacle to the widespread use of paclitaxel is the limitedresources from which paclitaxel is produced, causing paclitaxel therapyto be expensive. A course of treatment may cost several thousanddollars, for example. There is the added disadvantage that not alltumors respond to paclitaxel therapy, and this may be due to thepaclitaxel not getting into the tumor. There is an immediate need,therefore, for effective formulations of paclitaxel and related drugsthat are water soluble with long serum half lives for treatment oftumors, autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, as well as forthe prevention of restenosis of vessels subject to traumas such asangioplasty and stenting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention seeks to overcome these and other drawbacksinherent in the prior art by providing compositions comprising achemotherapeutic and/or antiangiogenic drug, such as paclitaxel,docetaxel, or other taxoid conjugated to a water soluble polymer such asa water soluble polyamino acid, or to a water soluble metal chelator. Itis a further embodiment of the present invention that a compositioncomprising a conjugate of paclitaxel and poly-glutamic acid hassurprising antitumor activity in animal models, and further that thiscomposition is demonstrated herein to be a new species of taxane thathas pharmaceutical properties different from that of paclitaxel. Thesecompositions are shown herein to be surprisingly effective as anti-tumoragents against exemplary tumor models, and are expected to be at leastas effective as paclitaxel, docetaxel, or other taxoid against any ofthe diseases or conditions for which taxanes or taxoids are known to beeffective. The compositions of the invention provide water solubletaxoids to overcome the drawbacks associated with the insolubility ofthe drugs themselves, and also provide the advantages of improvedefficacy and controlled release so that tumors are shown herein to beeradicated in animal models after a single intravenous administration,as well as providing a novel taxane. Poly-(l-glutamic acid) conjugatedpaclitaxel is shown in the examples hereinbelow to have a novel drugactivity, in addition to having improved the delivery to the tumor andproviding a controlled release.

The methods described herein could also be used to make water solublepolymer conjugates of other therapeutic agents, contrast agents anddrugs, including paclitaxel, tamoxifen, Taxotere, etopside, teniposide,fludarabine, doxorubicin, daunomycin, emodin, 5-fluorouracil, FUDR,estradiol, camptothecin, retinoids, verapamil, epothilones cyclosporin,and other taxoids. In particular, those agents with a free hydroxylgroup would be conjugated to the polymers by similar chemical reactionsas described herein for paclitaxel. Such conjugation would be wellwithin the skill of a routine practitioner of the chemical art, and assuch would fall within the scope of the claimed invention. Those agentswould include, but would not be limited to etopside, teniposide,camptothecin and the epothilones. As used herein, conjugated to a watersoluble polymer means the covalent bonding of the drug to the polymer orchelator.

It is also understood that the water soluble conjugates of the presentinvention may be administered in conjunction with other drugs, includingother anti-tumor or anti-cancer drugs. Such combinations are known inthe art. The water soluble paclitaxel, docetaxel, or other taxoid, or inpreferred embodiments the poly-(l-glutamic) acid conjugated paclitaxel(PG-TXL), of the present invention may, in certain types of treatment,be combined with a platinum drug, an antitumor agent such as doxorubicinor daunorubicin, for example, or other drugs that are used incombination with Taxol™ or combined with external or internalirradiation.

Conjugation of chemotherapeutic drugs to polymers is an attractiveapproach to reduce systemic toxicity and improve the therapeutic index.Polymers with molecular mass larger than 30 kDa do not readily diffusethrough normal capillaries and glomerular endothelium, thus sparingnormal tissue from irrelevant drug-mediated toxicity (Maeda andMatsumura, 1989; Reynolds, 1995). On the other hand, it is wellestablished that malignant tumors often have disordered capillaryendothelium and greater permeability than normal tissue vasculature(Maeda and Matsumura, 1989; Fidler et al., 1987). Tumors often lack alymphatic vasculature to remove large molecules that leak into the tumortissue (Maeda and Matsumura, 1989). Thus, a polymer-drug conjugate thatwould normally remain in the vasculature may selectively leak from bloodvessels into tumors, resulting in tumor accumulation of activetherapeutic drug. The water soluble polymers, such as, in preferredembodiments PG-TXL, may have pharmacological properties different fromnon-conjugated drugs (i.e. paclitaxel). Additionally, polymer-drugconjugates may act as drug depots for sustained release, producingprolonged drug exposure to tumor cells. Finally, water soluble polymers(e.g., water soluble polyamino acids) may be used to stabilize drugs, aswell as to solubilize otherwise insoluble compounds. At present, avariety of synthetic and natural polymers have been examined for theirability to enhance tumor-specific drug delivery (Kopecek, 1990, Maedaand Matsumura, 1989). However, only a few are known by the presentinventors to be currently undergoing clinical evaluation, includingSMANCS in Japan and HPMA-Dox in the United Kingdom (Maeda, 1991; Kopecekand Kopeckova, 1993).

In the present disclosure, a taxoid is understood to mean thosecompounds that include paclitaxels and docetaxel, and other chemicalsthat have the taxane skeleton (Cortes and Pazdur, 1995), and may beisolated from natural sources such as the Yew tree, or from cellculture, or chemically synthesized molecules, and a preferred taxane isa chemical of the general chemical formula, C₄₇H₅, NO₁₄, including[2aR-[2aα,4β,4αβ,6β,9α(αR*,βS*),11α,12α,12aα,12bα,]]-β-(Benzoylamino)-α-hydroxybenzenepropanoic acid 6,12b,bis(acetyloxy)-12-(benzoyloxy)-2a,3,4,4a,5,6,9,10,11,12,12a,12b-dodecahydro-4,11-dihydroxy-4a,8,13,13-tetramethyl-5-oxo-7,11-methano-1H-cyclodeca[3,4]benz-[1,2-b]oxet-9-ylester. It is understood that paclitaxel and docetaxel are each moreeffective than the other against certain types of tumors, and that inthe practice of the present invention, those tumors that are moresusceptible to a particular taxoid would be treated with that watersoluble taxoid or taxane conjugate.

In those embodiments in which the paclitaxel is conjugated to a watersoluble metal chelator, the composition may further comprise a chelatedmetal ion. The chelated metal ion of the present invention may be anionic form of any one of aluminum, boron, calcium, chromium, cobalt,copper, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium, gallium, germanium,holmium, indium, iridium, iron, magnesium, manganese, nickel, platinum,rhenium, rubidium, ruthenium, samarium, sodium, technetium, thallium,tin, yttrium or zinc. In certain preferred embodiments, the chelatedmetal ion will be a radionuclide, i.e. a radioactive isotope of one ofthe listed metals. Preferred radionuclides include, but are not limitedto ⁶⁷Ga, ⁶⁸Ga, ¹¹¹In, ^(99m)Tc, ⁹⁰Y, ^(114m)Sn and ^(193m)Pt.

Preferred water soluble chelators to be used in the practice of thepresent invention include, but are not limited to,diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), ethylenediaminetetraaceticacid (EDTA), 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-N,N′,N″,N′″-tetraacetate(DOTA), tetraazacyclotetradecane-N,N′,N″N″′-tetraacetic acid (TETA),hydroxyethylidene diphosphonate (HEDP), dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA),diethylenetriaminetetramethylenephosphonic acid (DTTP) and1-(p-aminobenzyl)-DTPA, 1,6-diamino hexane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid,DPDP, and ethylenebis (oxyethylenenitrilo)-tetraacetic acid, with DTPAbeing the most preferred. A preferred embodiment of the presentinvention may also be a composition comprising ¹¹¹In-DTPA-paclitaxel,and Na-DTPA-paclitaxel.

In certain embodiments of the present invention, the paclitaxel,docetaxel, or other taxoid may be conjugated to a water soluble polymer,and preferably the polymer is conjugated to the 2′ or the 7- hydroxyl orboth of the paclitaxel, docetaxel, or other taxoid. Poly-glutamic acid(PG) is one polymer that offers several advantages in the presentinvention. First, it contains a large number of side chain carboxylfunctional groups for drug attachment. Second, PG can be readilydegraded by lysosomal enzymes to its nontoxic basic component,1-glutamic acid, d-glutamic acid and di-glutamic acid. Finally, sodiumglutamate has been reported to prevent manifestations of neuropathyinduced by paclitaxel, thus enabling higher doses of paclitaxel to betolerated (Boyle et al., 1996). Preferred polymers include, but are notlimited to poly(l-glutamic acid), poly(d-glutamic acid),poly(dl-glutamic acid), poly(l-aspartic acid), poly(d-aspartic acid),poly(dl-aspartic acid), poly(l-lysine), poly(d-lysine), poly(dl-lysine),copolymers of the above listed polyamino acids with polyethylene glycol,polycaprolactone, polyglycolic acid and polylactic acid, as well aspoly(2-hydroxyethyl 1-glutamine), chitosan, carboxymethyl dextran,hyaluronic acid, human serum albumin and alginic acid, withpoly-glutamic acids being particularly preferred. At the lower end ofmolecular weight, the polymers of the present invention preferably havea molecular weight of about 1,000, about 2,000, about 3,000, about4,000, about 5,000, about 6,000, about 7,000, about 8,000, about 9,000,about 10,000, about 11,000, about 12,000, about 13,000, about 14,000,about 15,000, about 16,000, about 17,000, about 18,000, about 19,000,about 20,000, about 21,000, about 22,000, about 23,000, about 24,000,about 25,000, about 26,000, about 27,000, about 28,000, about 29,000,about 30,000, about 31,000, about 32,000, about 33,000, about 34,000,about 35,000, about 36,000, about 37,000, about 38,000, about 39,000,about 40,000, about 41,000, about 42,000, about 43,000, about 44,000,about 45,000, about 46,000, about 47,000, about 48,000, about 49,000, toabout 50,000 D. At the higher end of molecular weight, the polymers ofthe present invention preferably have a molecular weight of about51,000, about 52,000, about 53,000, about 54,000, about 55,000, about56,000, about 57,000, about 58,000, about 59,000, about 60,000, about61,000, about 62,000, about 63,000, about 64,000, about 65,000, about66,000, about 67,000, about 68,000, about 69,000, about 70,000, about71,000, about 72,000, about 73,000, about 74,000, about 75,000, about76,000, about 77,000, about 78,000, about 79,000, about 80,000, about81,000, about 82,000, about 83,000, about 84,000, about 85,000, about86,000, about 87,000, about 88,000, about 89,000, about 90,000, about91,000, about 92,000, about 93,000, about 94,000, about 95,000, about96,000, about 97,000, about 98,000, about 99,000, to about 100,000 D.Within these ranges, the ranges of molecular weights for the polymersare preferably of about 5,000 to about 100,000 D, with about 20,000 toabout 80,000 being preferred, or even about 25,000 to about 50,000 beingmore preferred.

It is a further aspect of the invention that a composition of theinvention such as PG-TXL may also be conjugated to a second lipophilicor poorly soluble antitumor agent such as camptothecin, epothilone,cisplatin, melphalan, Taxotere, etoposide, teniposide, fludarabine,verapamil, or cyclosporin, for example, or even to water soluble agentssuch as 5 fluorouracil (5 FU) or fluorodeoxyuridine (FUDR), doxorubicinor daunomycin.

It is understood that the compositions of the present invention may bedispersed in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier solution as describedbelow. Such a solution would be sterile or aseptic and may includewater, buffers, isotonic agents or other ingredients known to those ofskill in the art that would cause no allergic or other harmful reactionwhen administered to an animal or human subject. Therefore, the presentinvention may also be described as a pharmaceutical compositioncomprising a chemotherapeutic or anti-cancer drug such as paclitaxel,docetaxel, or other taxoid conjugated to a high molecular weight watersoluble polymer or to a chelator. The pharmaceutical composition mayinclude polyethylene glycol, poly-glutamic acids, poly-aspartic acids,poly-lysine, or a chelator, preferably DTPA. It is also understood thata radionuclide may be used as an anti-tumor agent, or drug, and that thepresent pharmaceutical composition may include a therapeutic amount of achelated radioactive isotope.

In certain embodiments, the present invention may be described as amethod of determining the uptake of a chemotherapeutic drug such aspaclitaxel, docetaxel, or other taxoid by tumor tissue. This method maycomprise obtaining a conjugate of the drug and a metal chelator with achelated metal ion, contacting tumor tissue with the composition anddetecting the presence of the chelated metal ion in the tumor tissue.The presence of the chelated metal ion in the tumor tissue is indicativeof uptake by the tumor tissue. The chelated metal ion may be aradionuclide and the detection may be scintigraphic. The tumor tissuemay also be contained in an animal or a human subject and thecomposition would then be administered to the subject.

The present invention may also be described in certain embodiments as amethod of treating cancer in a subject. This method includes obtaining acomposition comprising a chemotherapeutic drug such as paclitaxel,docetaxel, or other taxoid conjugated to a water soluble polymer orchelator and dispersed in a pharmaceutically acceptable solution andadministering the solution to the subject in an amount effective totreat the tumor. Preferred compositions comprise paclitaxel, docetaxel,or other taxoid conjugated to a water soluble polyamino acids, includingbut not limited to poly (l-aspartic acid), poly (d-aspartic acid), orpoly (dl-aspartic acid), poly (l-lysine acid), poly (d-lysine acid), orpoly (dl-lysine acid), and more preferably to poly (l-glutamic acid),poly (d-glutamic acid), or poly (dl-glutamic acid). The compositions ofthe invention are understood to be effective against any type of cancerfor which the unconjugated taxoid is shown to be effective and wouldinclude, but not be limited to breast cancer, ovarian cancer, malignantmelanoma, lung cancer, head and neck cancer. The compositions of theinvention may also be used against gastric cancer, prostate cancer,colon cancer, leukemia, or Kaposi's Sarcoma. As used herein the term“treating” cancer is understood as meaning any medical management of asubject having a tumor. The term would encompass any inhibition of tumorgrowth or metastasis, or any attempt to inhibit, slow or abrogate tumorgrowth or metastasis. The method includes killing a cancer cell bynon-apoptotic as well as apoptotic mechanisms of cell death. The methodof treating a tumor may include some prediction of the paclitaxel ordocetaxel uptake in the tumor prior to administering a therapeuticamount of the drug, by methods that include but are not limited to bolusinjection or infusion, as well as intraarterial, intravenous,intraperitoneal, or intratumoral administration of the drug.

This method may include any of the imaging techniques discussed above inwhich a paclitaxel-chelator-chelated metal is administered to a subjectand detected in a tumor. This step provides a cost effective way ofdetermining that a particular tumor would not be expected to respond toDTPA-paclitaxel therapy in those cases where the drug does not get intothe tumor. It is contemplated that if an imaging technique can be usedto predict the response to paclitaxel and to identify patients that arenot likely to respond, great expense and crucial time may be saved forthe patient. The assumption is that if there is no reasonable amount ofchemotherapeutic agent deposited in the tumor, the probability of tumorresponse to that agent is relatively small.

In certain embodiments the present invention may be described as amethod of obtaining a body image of a subject. The body image isobtained by administering an effective amount of a radioactive metal ionchelated to a paclitaxel-chelator conjugate to a subject and measuringthe scintigraphic signals of the radioactive metal to obtain an image.

The present invention may also be described in certain broad aspects asa method of decreasing at least one symptom of a systemic autoimmunedisease comprising administering to a subject, having a systemicautoimmune disease an effective amount of a composition comprisingpaclitaxel or docetaxel conjugated to polymer, with polyamino acidsbeing preferred and poly-glutamic acid being more preferred. Ofparticular interest in the context of the present disclosure is thetreatment of rheumatoid arthritis, which is known to respond in somecases to paclitaxel when administered in the standard Cremophorformulation (U.S. Pat. No. 5,583,153, incorporated herein by reference).As in the treatment of tumors, it is contemplated that the effectivenessof the water soluble taxoids or taxane of the present invention will notbe diminished by the conjugation to a water soluble moiety. Therefore,the compositions of the present invention are expected to be aseffective as paclitaxel against rheumatoid arthritis. Paclitaxel is anantiangiogenic agent. Rheumatoid arthritis creates a collection of newlyformed vessels which erode the adjacent joints. It is also understoodthat the taxoid or taxane compositions of the present invention may beused in combination with other drugs, such as an angiogenesis inhibitor(AGM-1470) (Oliver et al., 1994), or other anti-cancer drugs, such asmethotrexate.

The finding that paclitaxel also inhibits restenosis after balloonangioplasty indicates that the water soluble paclitaxels and docetaxelsof the present invention will find a variety of applications beyonddirect parenteral administration (WO 9625176, incorporated herein byreference). For example, it is contemplated that water solublepaclitaxel will be useful as a coating for implanted medical devices,such as tubings, shunts, catheters, artificial implants, pins,electrical implants such as pacemakers, and especially for arterial orvenous stents, including balloon-expandable stents. In these embodimentsit is contemplated that water soluble paclitaxel may be bound to animplantable medical device, or alternatively, the water solublepaclitaxel may be passively adsorbed to the surface of the implantabledevice. For example, stents may be coated with polymer-drug conjugatesby dipping the stent in polymer-drug solution or spraying the stent withsuch a solution. Suitable materials for the implantable device should bebiocompatible and nontoxic and may be chosen from the metals such asnickel-titanium alloys, steel, or biocompatible polymers, hydrogels,polyurethanes, polyethylenes, ethylenevinyl acetate copolymers, etc. Ina preferred embodiment the water soluble paclitaxel, especially a PG-TXLconjugate, is coated onto a stent for insertion into an artery or veinfollowing balloon angioplasty. The invention may be described therefore,in certain broad aspects as a method of inhibiting arterial restenosisor arterial occlusion following vascular trauma comprising administeringto a subject in need thereof, a composition comprising paclitaxel ordocetaxel conjugated to poly-glutamic acid or other water solublepoly-amino acids. In the practice of the method, the subject may be acoronary bypass, vascular surgery, organ transplant or coronary or anyother arterial angioplasty patient, for example, and the composition maybe administered directly, intravenously, or even coated on a stent to beimplanted at the sight of vascular trauma.

An embodiment of the invention is, therefore, an implantable medicaldevice, wherein the device is coated with a composition comprisingpaclitaxel or docetaxel conjugated to poly-glutamic acids or watersoluble polyamino acids in an amount effective to inhibit smooth musclecell proliferation. A preferred device is a stent coated with thecompositions of the present invention as described herein, and incertain preferred embodiments, the stent is adapted to be used during orafter balloon angioplasty and the coating is effective to inhibitrestenosis.

In certain preferred embodiments, the invention may be described as acomposition comprising poly-glutamic acids conjugated to the 2′ or 7hydroxyl or both of paclitaxel, docetaxel, or other taxoids, or even acomposition comprising water soluble polyamino acids conjugated to the2′ or 7 hydroxyl or both of paclitaxel, docetaxel, or other taxoids.

As used herein, the terms “a poly-glutamic acid” or “poly-glutamicacids” include poly (l-glutamic acid), poly (d-glutamic acid) and poly(dl-glutamic acid), the terms “a poly-aspartic acid” or “poly-asparticacids” include poly (l-aspartic acid), poly (d-aspartic acid), poly(dl-aspartic acid), the terms “a poly-lysine” or “poly-lysine” includepoly (l-lysine), poly (d-lysine), poly (dl-lysine), and the terms “awater soluble polyamino acid”, “water soluble polyamino acids”, or“water soluble polymer of amino acids” include, but are not limited to,poly-glutamic acid, poly-aspartic acid, poly-lysine, and amino acidchains comprising mixtures of glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and/orlysine. In certain embodiments, the terms “a water soluble polyaminoacid”, “water soluble polyamino acids”, or “water soluble polymer ofamino acids” include amino acid chains comprising combinations ofglutamic acid and/or aspartic acid and/or lysine, of either d and/or lisomer conformation. In certain prefered embodiments, such a “watersoluble polyamino acid” contains one or more glutamic acid, asparticacid, and/or lysine residues. Such “water soluble polyamino acids” mayalso comprise any natural, modified, or unusual amino acid describedherein, as long as the majority of residues, i.e. greater than 50%,comprise glutamic acid and/or aspartic acid and/or lysine. In certainembodiments, a water soluble polymer of amino acids that contains morethan one different type of amino acid residue is sometimes referred toherein as a “co-polymer”.

In certain embodiments, various substitutions of naturally occurring,unussual, or chemically modified amino acids may be made in the aminoacid composition of the “water soluble polyamino acids”, andparticularly in “poly-glutamic acids”, to produce a taxoid-polyaminoacid conjugate of the present invention and still obtain moleculeshaving like or otherwise desirable characteristics of solubility and/ortherapeutic efficacy. A polyamino acid such as poly-glutamic acid,poly-aspartic acid, poly-lysine, or water soluble amino acids chain orpolymer comprising a mixture of glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and/orlysine, may, at the lower end of the amino acid substitution range, haveabout 1, about 2, about 3, about 4, about 5, about 6, about 7, about 8,about 9, about 10, about 12, about 13, about 14, about 15, about 16,about 17, about 18, about 19, about 20, about 21, about 22, about 23,about 24, or about 25 or more glutamic acid, aspartic acid, or lysine,residues, respectively, substituted by any of the naturally occurring,modified, or unusual amino acids described herein. In other aspects ofthe invention, a polyamino acid such as poly-glutamic acid,poly-aspartic acid, poly-lysine, or a poly-amino acid chain comprising amixture of some or all of these three amino acids may, at the lower end,have about 1%, about 2%, about 3%, about 4%, about 5%, about 6%, about7%, about 8%, about 9%, about 10%, about 11%, about 12%, about 13%,about 14%, about 15%, about 16%, about 17%, about 18%, about 19%, about20%, about 21%, about 22%, about 23%, about 24%, to about 25% or moreglutamic acid, aspartic acid, or lysine residues, respectively,substituted by any of the naturally occurring, modified, or unusualamino acids described herein.

In further aspects of the invention, a polyamino acid such aspoly-glutamic acid, poly-aspartic acid, or poly-lysine may, at the highend of the amino acid substitution range, have about 25%, about 26%,about 27%, about 28%, about 29%, about 30%, about 31%, about 32%, about33%, about 34%, about 35%, about 36%, about 37%, about 38%, about 39%,about 40%, about 41%, about 42%, about 43%, about 44%, about 45%, about46%, about 47%, about 48%, about 49%, to about 50% or so of the glutamicacid, aspartic acid, or lysine residues, respectively, substituted byany of the naturally occurring, modified, or unusual amino acidsdescribed herein, as long as the majority of residues comprise glutamicacid and/or aspartic acid and/or lysine. In amino acid substitution ofthe various water soluble amino acid polymers, residues with ahydrophilicity index of +1 or more are preferred.

In certain aspects of the invention, the amount of anti-tumor drugconjugated per water soluble polymer can vary. At the lower end, such acomposition may comprise from about 1%, about 2%, about 3%, about 4%,about 5%, about 6%, about 7%, about 8%, about 9%, or about 10%, about11%, about 12%, about 13%, about 14%, about 15%, about 16%, about 17%,about 18%, about 19%, about 20%, about 21% about 22%, about 23%, about24%, to about 25% (w/w) antitumor drug relative to the mass of theconjugate. At the high end, such a composition may comprise from about26%, about 27%, about 28%, about 29%, about 30%, about 31% about 32%,about 33%, about 34%, about 35%, about 36%, about 37%, about 38%, about39%, to about 40% or more (w/w) antitumor drug relative to the mass ofthe conjugate. Preferred anti-tumor drugs include paclitaxel, docetaxel,or other taxoids, and preferred water soluble polymers include watersoluble amino acid polymers.

In certain other aspects of the invention, the number of molecules ofanti-tumor drug conjugated per molecule of water soluble polymer canvary. At the lower end, such a composition may comprise from about 1,about 2, about 3, about 4, about 5, about 6, about 7, about 8, about 9,about 10, about 11, about 12, about 13, about 14, about 15, about 16,about 17, about 18, about 19, to about 20 or more molecules of antitumordrug per molecule of water soluble polymer. At the higher end, such acomposition may comprise from about 21, about 22, about 23, about 24,about 25, about 26, about 27, about 28, about 29, about 30, about 31,about 32, about 33, about 34, about 35, about 36, about 37, about 38,about 39, about 40, about 41, about 42, about 43, about 44, about 45,about 46, about 47, about 48, about 49, about 50, about 51, about 52,about 53, about 54, about 55, about 56, about 57, about 58, about 59,about 60 about 61, about 62, about 63, about 64, about 65, about 66,about 67, about 68, about 69, about 70, about 71, about 72, about 73,about 74, to about 75 or more molecules or more of antitumor drug permolecule of water soluble polymer. Preferred anti-tumor drugs includepaclitaxel, docetaxel, or other taxoids, and preferred water solublepolymers include water soluble amino acid polymers. The preferred numberof anti-tumor drug molecules conjugated per molecule of water solublepolymer is about 7 molecules of antitumor drug per molecule of watersoluble polymer.

Water soluble amino acid polymers with various substitutions of residuesconjugated to paclitaxel, docetaxel, or other taxoids are referred to as“biological functional equivalents”. These “biologically functionalequivalents” are part of the definition of “water soluble polyaminoacids” that are conjugated to taxoids, and may be identified by theassays described herein as well as any applicable assay that is known tothose of skill in the art to measure improved aqueous solubilityrelative to the unconjugated taxoid or taxoids used to produce theparticular water soluble amino acid polymer-taxoid composition. In otheraspects of the invention, “biological functional equivalents” of watersoluble amino acid-taxoid polymers may be further identified by improvedanti-tumor cell activity, relative to the anti-tumor cell activity ofthe unconjugated taxoid or taxoids used to produce the particular watersoluble amino acid polymer-taxoid composition by the assays describedherein as well as any applicable assay that is known to those of skillin the art. The term “biologically functional equivalents” as usedherein to describe this aspect of the invention is further described inthe detailed description of the invention.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art to which this invention belongs. Also as used herein, the term“a” is understood to include the meaning “one or more”. Although anymethods and materials similar or equivalent to those described hereincan be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, thepreferred methods and materials are now described.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A. Chemical structure of paclitaxel, PEG-paclitaxel andDTPA-paclitaxel.

FIG. 1B. Chemical structure and reaction scheme for production ofPG-TXL.

FIG. 2. Effect of paclitaxel, PEG-paclitaxel and DTPA-paclitaxel onproliferation of B16 melanoma cells.

FIG. 3. Antitumor effect of DTPA-paclitaxel on MCa-4 mammary tumors.

FIG. 4. Median time (days) to reach tumor diameter of 12 mm aftertreatment with paclitaxel, DTPA-paclitaxel and PEG-paclitaxel.

FIG. 5. Gamma-scintigraphs of mice bearing MCa-4 tumors followingintravenous injection of ¹¹¹In-DTPA-paclitaxel and ¹¹¹In-DTPA. Arrowindicates the tumor.

FIG. 6. Hydrolytic degradation of PG-TXL as determined in PBS as afunction of time at different pH levels. -⋄- represents percentpaclitaxel released, -◯- represents metabolite-1 produced.

FIG. 7A. Anti-tumor effect of PG-TXL against syngeneic OCA-I ovariancarcinoma tumor in female C3Hf/Kam mice. Drugs were injectedintraveneously in a single dose. Data are presented as mean ± standarddeviation of tumor volumes. a, Mice bearing OCA-l tumor were injectedwith -□-, PG control (800 mg/kg; n=9); -▴-, paclitaxel (80 mg/kg; n=7);-Δ-, paclitaxel (80 mg/kg) plus PG (800 mg/kg; n=5); --, PG-TXL (80 mgequiv. paclitaxel; n=6); or -◯-, PG-TXL (160 mg equiv. paclitaxel/kg;n=26).

FIG. 7B. Anti-tumor effect of PG-TXL against 13762F tumor in femalerats. -□- represents PG control (220 mg/kg; n=7), -▴- representspaclitaxel (20 mg/kg; n=5), -Δ- represents paclitaxel (40 mg/kg; n=7),-- represents PG-TXL (20 mg equivalent paclitaxel/kg; n=5), -◯-represents PG-TXL (40 mg or 60 mg equivalent paclitaxel/kg; n=9).

FIG. 7C. The antitumor effect of PG-TXL on mice bearing MCa-4 mammarycarcinoma tumors. -□- represents the response to a single i.v. dose ofsaline, -Δ- represents the response to a single i.v. dose of PG (0.6g/kg); -♦- represents response to PG-TXL (40 mg/kg), -⋄- representsresponse to PG-TXL (60 mg equiv. paclitaxel/kg), -◯- represents responseto PG-TXL (120 mg/kg).

FIG. 7D. The antitumor effect of PG-TXL against soft-tissue sarcomatumor (FSa-II) in mice. -□- represents the response to a single i.v.dose of saline, -⋄- represents the response to a single i.v. dose of PG(0.8 g/kg); -◯- represents response to paclitaxel (80 mg/kg), -Δ-represents response to PG-TXL (160 mg equiv. paclitaxel/kg).

FIG. 7E. The antitumor effect of PG-TXL against syngeneichepatocarcinoma tumor (HCa-I) in mice. -□- represents the response to asingle i.v. dose of saline, -Δ- represents the response to a single i.v.dose of PG (0.8 g/kg); -◯- represents response to PG-TXL (80 mg/kg), -Δ-represents response to PG-TXL (160 mg equiv. paclitaxel/kg).

FIG. 8. Release profile of paclitaxel from PEG-paclitaxel in phosphatebuffer (pH 7.4). Release profiles of paclitaxel (-X-); fromPEG-paclitaxel (-◯-) at pH 7.4 is shown.

FIG. 9. Antitumor effect of PEG-paclitaxel on MCa-4 mammary tumors.-□-represents the response a single i.v. injection with a salinesolution of PEG (60 mg/ml), -▪- represents the response to theCremophor/alcohol vehicle, -◯-represents a single dose of 40 mg/kg bodyweight of paclitaxel, -- represents PEG-paclitaxel at 40 mg equiv.paclitaxel/kg body weight.

FIG. 10. Tubulin polymerization assays performed at 32° C. in thepresence of 1.0 mM GTP and 1.0 mg/ml of tubulin. -□- representspaclitaxel (1.0 μ), -Δ- represents PG-TXL (10 μM equivalent paclitaxel)incubated in PBS (pH 7.4) at 37° C. for 3 days, -◯- represents freshlydissolved PG-TXL.

FIG. 11. Plasma clearance of radioactivity following an i.v. injectionof PG-[³H]paclitaxel and [³H]paclitaxel in C3Hf/Kam mice. -□- representsPG-TXL radioactivity after injection of 6 μCi of radiolabeled[³H]paclitaxel (20 mg equivalent paclitaxel/kg), -x- representspaclitaxel radioactivity after injection of 6 μCi of radiolabeled[³H]paclitaxel (20 mg equivalent paclitaxel/kg), -◯- represents“Paclitaxel” radioactivity released from injected PG-[³H]paclitaxel.

FIG. 12A. Time-dependent OCA-1 tumor content of radioactivity followinginjection of either PG-[³H]paclitaxel and [³ H]paclitaxel into mice.Open bars represents PG-TXL radioactivity after injection of 6 μCi ofradiolabeled PG-[³H]paclitaxel (20 mg equivalent paclitaxel/kg), filledbars represents paclitaxel radioactivity after injection of 6 μCi ofradiolabeled [³H]paclitaxel (20 mg equivalent paclitaxel/kg).

FIG. 12B. Conversion of PG-[³H]paclitaxel to [³H]paclitaxel within OCA-1tumor. Total radioactivity measured after injection of 6 μCi ofradiolabeled PG-[³H]paclitaxel is shown in open bars, “Paclitaxel”derived radioactivity released from injected PG-[³H]paclitaxel is shownin solid bars.

FIG. 13. Kinetics of apoptosis in OCA-1 tumors after a single i.v. doseof 160 mg equiv. paclitaxel/kg of PG-TXL (MTD) and 80 mg/kg paclitaxel(MTD). -□- represents the response to a single i.v. dose of PG-TXL (160mg equiv. paclitaxel/kg MTD), -◯- represents response to paclitaxel (80mg paclitaxel/kg MTD).

FIG. 14. Survival of nude mice with human ovarian cancer cells(SKOV3ip1) treated with PG-TXL. Five days after tumor injection, themice were injected i.v. with the PG-paclitaxel (PG-TXL), or PG control.Injections of PG-TXL were administered every seven days (▾) in the 120mg/kg group, but not the 160 mg/kg group. -▪- represents untreated mice.-▴- represents the response to multiple i.v. doses of PG. -▾- representsthe response to an i.v. dose of PG-TXL (120 mg equiv. paclitaxel/kg),-♦- represents the response to an i.v. dose of PG-TXL (160 mg equiv.paclitaxel/kg).

FIG. 15. Chemical structure and reaction scheme for production ofglutamic acid containing polyamino acids.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention arises from the discovery of novel, water solubleformulations of paclitaxel and docetaxel, and the surprising efficacy ofthese formulations against tumor cells in vivo. Poly (l-glutamic acid)conjugated paclitaxel (PG-TXL) administered to mice bearing ovariancarcinoma (OCA-I) caused significant tumor growth delay as compared tothe same dose of paclitaxel without PG. Mice treated with paclitaxelalone or with a combination of free paclitaxel and PG showed delayedtumor growth initially, but tumors regrew to levels comparable to anuntreated control group after ten days. Moreover, at the maximumtolerated dose (MTD) of the PG-TXL conjugate, (160 mg equiv.paclitaxel/kg), the growth of tumors was completely suppressed, thetumors shrank, and mice observed for two months following treatmentremained tumor free (MTD: defined as the maximal dose that produced 15%or less body weight loss within two wk after a single i.v. injection).In a parallel study, the antitumor activity of PG-TXL in rats with ratmammary adenocarcinoma (13762F) was examined. Again, complete tumoreradication at 40-60 mg equiv. paclitaxel/kg of PG-TXL was observed.These surprising results demonstrate that the polymer-drug conjugate,PG-TXL, successfully eradicates well established solid tumors in bothmice and rats after a single intravenous injection.

In addition to the remarkable antitumor (breast, ovarian, etc.) data insyngeneic mice, good activity of PG-TXL against human breast cancer(MDA-435) and ovarian cancer (SKOV3ipl) in nude mice has recently beenobserved. Nude mice are special animals with incomplete immune systemsin which human tumors can grow.

The data presented herein have led the present inventors to concludethat PG-TXL is a novel species of taxane that is pharmacologicallydistinct from previous paclitaxel or Taxol™ preparations. For example,the distribution of PG-TXL within plasma is distinct from freepaclitaxel. While paclitaxel remains in the plasma of mice for anextremely short time, PG-TXL appears to remain for a much longer period.This is contemplated to offer a distinct advantage in that prolongedexposure of tumors to the drug may result in an enhanced response. Therate of conversion of PG-TXL to paclitaxel is slow, with less than 1% ofthe radioactivity from radiolabeled PG-TXL being recovered asradioactive paclitaxel within 48 h after injection of thepaclitaxel-polymer complex. This finding suggests that the novel drug,PG-TXL, may produce death within tumor cells in a manner which is notsimply due to the gradual release of paclitaxel itself.

Further evidence of the novelty of PG-TXL is that relatively high levelsof radioactivity from radiolabeled PG-TXL appear in tumor tissue shortlyafter injection. However, only small amounts of radioactivity withintumor tissue are due to the release of free paclitaxel. Furthermore, thepercent of radioactivity within tumor tissue due to paclitaxel itselfdoes not appreciably increase with time suggesting again that PG-TXL isa minimal prodrug for the gradual release of paclitaxel. Uptake ofPG-TXL versus paclitaxel has also been studied in a specialized humancolon adenocarcinoma cell transport system. While radioactivityassociated with radiolabeled PG-TXL readily gained entry into cells,only 10% of it was due to free paclitaxel. These data parallel thatwhich was found in studies of tissue distribution and again suggest thatthere are several mechanisms or ways in which PG-TXL may lead to thedeath of cancer cells which are different from those for paclitaxel.

In another study, it was discovered that freshly prepared PG-TXL doesnot support the growth of paclitaxel-dependent cell lines suggestingthat free paclitaxel is only slowly released from the polymer-paclitaxelcomplex and that the polymer-paclitaxel complex itself is not behavingpharmacologically as “Taxol™”. Aging will promote the degradation ofPG-TXL and does increase the relative ability of the resulting materialto support the growth of paclitaxel-dependent cells, but to a lesserextent than compared to free paclitaxel.

Recent analyses of tumor tissues from mice treated with paclitaxelsuggests that, as expected, this drug results in the formation of manyapoptotic bodies within the tumor itself. Apoptosis is a mechanism inwhich cells commit self-induced death or programmed cell death, anatural process used by an organism in wound healing and tissueremodeling. Tumors from mice treated with PG-TXL had far fewer apoptoticbodies compared to free paclitaxel but had an increased incidence oftumor necrosis and edema suggesting that paclitaxel and PG-TXL mayresult in tumor cell death by two distinctly different pathways.

These studies, and those described in the specific examples, demonstratethat PG-TXL is a new taxane which is not only extremely active againstbreast and ovarian cancers, and appears to have limited side affects. Itis now clear that the polymer conjugation of paclitaxel results in acompound (PG-TXL) that has novel and greater over-all antitumoractivity.

Another aspect of the present invention is the inclusion of molecules inthe polymeric composition that are effective to target the therapeuticcomposition to a disease or tumor site or to a particular organ ortissue. Many of such targeting molecules are known in the art and may beconjugated to the water soluble anti-tumor compositions of the presentinvention. Examples of such molecules or agents would include, but notbe limited to antibodies such as anti-tumor antibodies; anti-cellreceptor antibodies; tissue specific antibodies; hormonal agents such asoctreotide, estradiol and tamoxifen; growth factors; cell surfacereceptor ligands; enzymes; hypoxic agents such as misonidazole anderythronitroimidazole; and antiangiogenic agents.

Another composition of the present invention is DTPA-paclitaxel, alsoshown herein to be as effective as paclitaxel in an in vitro antitumorpotency assay using a B16 melanoma cell line. DTPA-paclitaxel did notshow any significant difference in antitumor effect as compared topaclitaxel against an MCa-4 mammary tumor at a dose of 40 mg/kg bodyweight in a single injection. Furthermore, ¹¹¹Indium labeledDTPA-paclitaxel was shown to accumulate in the MCa-4 tumor asdemonstrated by gamma-scintigraphy, demonstrating that the chelatorconjugated anti-tumor drugs of the present invention are useful andeffective for tumor imaging.

The novel compounds and methods of the present invention providesignificant advances over prior methods and compositions, as thewater-soluble paclitaxels are projected to improve the efficacy ofpaclitaxel-based anti-cancer therapy, by providing water soluble andcontrolled release paclitaxel derived compositions that also havedifferent antitumor properties than unmodified paclitaxel. Suchcompositions eliminate the need for solvents that are associated withside effects seen with prior paclitaxel compositions. In addition,radiolabeled paclitaxel, which is shown to retain anti-tumor activity,will also be useful in the imaging of tumors. Further, the presentinvention allows one to determine whether a paclitaxel will be taken upby a particular tumor by scintigraphy, single photon emission computertomography (SPECT) or positron emission tomography (PET). Thisdetermination may then be used to predict the efficacy of an anti-cancertreatment. This information may be helpful in guiding the practitionerin the selection of patients to undergo chelator-paclitaxel therapy.

The paclitaxel may be rendered water-soluble in many ways: i.e. byconjugating paclitaxel to water-soluble polymers which serve as drugcarriers, and by derivatizing the antitumor drug with water solublechelating agents. The latter approach also provides an opportunity forlabeling with radionuclides (e.g., ¹¹¹In, ⁹⁰Y, ¹⁶⁶Ho, ⁶⁸Ga, ^(99m)Tc)for nuclear imaging and/or for radiotherapy studies. The structures ofpaclitaxel, polyethylene glycol-paclitaxel (PEG-paclitaxel),poly-glutamic acid-paclitaxel conjugate (PG-TXL) anddiethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid-paclitaxel (DTPA-paclitaxel) areshown in FIG. 1.

In certain embodiments of the present invention, DTPA-paclitaxel orother paclitaxel-chelating agent conjugates, such as EDTA-paclitaxel,DTTP-paclitaxel, or DOTA-paclitaxel, for example, may be prepared in theform of water-soluble salts (sodium salt, potassium salt,tetrabutylammonium salt, calcium salt, ferric salt, etc.). These saltswill be useful as therapeutic agents for tumor treatment. Secondly,DTPA-paclitaxel or other paclitaxel-chelating agents will be useful asdiagnostic agents which, when labeled with radionuclides such as ¹¹¹Inor ^(99m)Tc, may be used as radiotracers to detect certain tumors incombination with nuclear imaging techniques. It is understood that inaddition to paclitaxel (Taxol™) and docetaxel (Taxotere), other taxanederivatives may be adapted for use in the compositions and methods ofthe present invention and that all such compositions and methods wouldbe encompassed by the present invention.

As modifications and changes may be made in the structure of the watersoluble polymer such as a water soluble polyamino acid, or a watersoluble metal chelator, of the present invention and still obtainmolecules having like or otherwise desirable characteristics, such“biologically functional equivalents” or “functional equivalents” arealso encompassed within the present invention.

For example, one of skill in the art will recognize that certain aminoacids may be substituted for other amino acids in a polyamino acidstructure, including water soluble amino acid polymers such aspoly-glutamic acid, poly-aspartic acid, or poly-lysine, withoutappreciable loss of interactive binding capacity with structures suchas, for example, a chemotherapeutic and/or antiangiogenic drug, such aspaclitaxel or docetaxel, or such like. Additionally, amino acidsubstitutions in a water soluble polyamino acid conjugated to achemotherapeutic and/or antiangiogenic drug, such as paclitaxel ordocetaxel, or such like, as exemplified by but not limited to PG-TXL,may be made and still maintain part or all of the novel pharmacologicalproperties disclosed herein. Since it is the interactive capacity andnature of a protein that defines that protein's biological functionalactivity, certain amino acid sequence substitutions can be made in apolyamino acid sequence and nevertheless obtain a polyamino acid withlike (agonistic) properties. It is thus contemplated by the inventorsthat various changes may be made in the sequence of the water solublepolyamino acids of a drug conjugate, such as, but not limited to PG-TXL,without appreciable loss of their biological utility or activity.

In terms of functional equivalents, it is well understood by the skilledartisan that, inherent in the definition of a “biologically functionalequivalent of a water soluble polyamino acid”, is the concept that thereis a limit to the number of changes that may be made within a portion ofthe molecule and still result in a molecule with an acceptable level ofequivalent biological activity. Biologically functional equivalent of awater soluble polyamino acids, are thus defined herein as those watersoluble polyamino acids in which certain, not most or all, of the aminoacids may be substituted by non-water soluble amino acids, whethernatural, unusual, or chemically modified.

In particular, where shorter length water soluble polyamino acids areconcerned, it is contemplated that fewer amino acids should be madewithin the given peptide. Longer domains may have an intermediate numberof changes. The longest water soluble polyamino acid chains, asdescribed herein, will have the most tolerance for a larger number ofchanges. Of course, a plurality of distinct water soluble polyaminoacids, such as but not limited to poly glutamic acid, poly asparticacid, or poly-lysine, with different substitutions may easily be madeand used in accordance with the invention.

It is also well understood that where certain residues are shown to beparticularly important to the biological or structural properties of apolyamino acid, such residues may not generally be exchanged. In thismanner, functional equivalents are defined herein as those water solublepolyamino acids which maintain a substantial amount of their nativebiological activity.

Amino acid substitutions are generally based on the relative similarityof the amino acid side-chain substituents, for example, theirhydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, charge, size, and the like. An analysisof the size, shape and type of the amino acid side-chain substituentsreveals that arginine, lysine and histidine are all positively chargedresidues; that alanine, glycine and serine are all a similar size; andthat phenylalanine, tryptophan and tyrosine all have a generally similarshape. Therefore, based upon these considerations, arginine, lysine andhistidine; alanine, glycine and serine; and phenylalanine, tryptophanand tyrosine; are defined herein as biologically functional equivalents.

To effect more quantitative changes, the hydropathic index of aminoacids may be considered. Each amino acid has been assigned a hydropathicindex on the basis of their hydrophobicity and charge characteristics,these are: isoleucine (+4.5); valine (+4.2); leucine (+3.8);phenylalanine (+2.8); cysteine/cystine (+2.5); methionine (+1.9);alanine (+1.8); glycine (−0.4); threonine (−0.7); serine (−0.8);tryptophan (−0.9); tyrosine (−1.3); proline (−1.6); histidine (−3.2);glutamate (−3.5); glutamine (−3.5); aspartate (−3.5); asparagine (−3.5);lysine (−3.9); and arginine (−4.5).

The importance of the hydropathic amino acid index in conferringinteractive biological function on a protein, and correspondingly apolyamino acid, is generally understood in the art (Kyte & Doolittle,1982, incorporated herein by reference). It is known that certain aminoacids may be substituted for other amino acids having a similarhydropathic index or score and still retain a similar biologicalactivity. In making changes based upon the hydropathic index, thesubstitution of amino acids whose hydropathic indices are within ±2 ispreferred, those which are within ±1 are particularly preferred, andthose within ±0.5 are even more particularly preferred.

It is also understood in the art that the substitution of like aminoacids can be made effectively on the basis of hydrophilicity. Asdetailed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,101, the following hydrophilicity valueshave been assigned to amino acid residues: arginine (+3.0); lysine(+3.0); aspartate (+3.0±1); glutamate (+3.0±1); serine (+0.3);asparagine (+0.2); glutamine (+0.2); glycine (0); threonine (−0.4);proline (-0.5±1); alanine (−0.5); histidine (−0.5); cysteine (−1.0);methionine (−1.3); valine (−1.5); leucine (−1.8); isoleucine (−1.8);tyrosine (−2.3); phenylalanine (−2.5); tryptophan (−3.4). In makingchanges based upon similar hydrophilicity values, the substitution ofamino acids whose hydrophilicity values are within ±2 is preferred,those which are within ±1 are particularly preferred, and those within±0.5 are even more particularly preferred. Hence, in reference tohydrophilicity, arginine, lysine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid aredefined herein as biologically functional equivalents, particularly inwater soluble amino acid polymers.

In addition to the water soluble polyamino acid-chemotherapeutic and/orantiangiogenic drug compounds described herein, such as paclitaxel ordocetaxel conjugated to a water soluble amino acid, or such like, asexemplified by, but not limited to PG-TXL compounds described herein,the inventors also contemplate that other sterically similar compoundsmay be formulated to mimic the key portions of the water solublepolyamino acid structure. Such compounds, which may be termedpeptidomimetics, may be used in the same manner as the peptides of theinvention and hence are also functional equivalents.

Certain mimetics that mimic elements of protein secondary structure aredescribed in Johnson et al. (1993). The underlying rationale behind theuse of peptide mimetics is that the peptide backbone of proteins,including polyamino acids, exists chiefly to orientate amino acid sidechains in such a way as to facilitate molecular interactions, such asthose of antibody and antigen. A peptide mimetic is thus designed topermit molecular interactions similar to the natural molecule.

Some successful applications of the peptide mimetic concept have focusedon mimetics of β-turns within proteins, which are known to be highlyantigenic. Likely β-turn structure within a polypeptide can be predictedby computer-based algorithms, as discussed herein. Once the componentamino acids of the turn are determined, mimetics can be constructed toachieve a similar spatial orientation of the essential elements of theamino acid side chains.

The generation of further structural equivalents or mimetics may beachieved by the techniques of modeling and chemical design known tothose of skill in the art. The art of receptor modeling is now wellknown, and by such methods a chemical that binds to water solublepolyamino acids can be designed and then synthesized. It will beunderstood that all such sterically designed constructs fall within thescope of the present invention.

In addition to the 20 “standard” amino acids provided through thegenetic code, modified or unusual amino acids are also contemplated foruse in the present invention. A table of exemplary, but not limiting,modified or unusual amino acids is provided herein below.

TABLE 1 Modified and Unusual Amino Acids Abbr. Amino Acids Aad2-Aminoadipic acid bAad 3-Aminoadipic acid bAla beta-alanine,beta-Amino-propionic acid Abu 2-Aminobutyric acid 4Abu 4-Aminobutyricacid, piperidinic acid Acp 6-Aminocaproic acid Ahe 2-Aminoheptanoic acidAib 2-Aminoisobutyric acid bAib 3-Aminoisobutyric acid Apm2-Aminopimelic acid Dbu 2,4-Diaminobutyric acid Des Desmosine Dpm2,2′-Diaminopimelic acid Dpr 2,3-Diaminopropionic acid EtGlyN-Ethylglycine EtAsn N-Ethylasparagine Hyl Hydroxylysine aHylallo-Hydroxylysine 3Hyp 3-Hydroxyproline 4Hyp 4-Hydroxyproline IdeIsodesmosine aIle allo-Isoleucine MeGly N-Methylglycine, sarcosine MeIleN-Methylisoleucine MeLys 6-N-Methyllysine MeVal N-Methylvaline NvaNorvaline Nle Norleucine Orn Ornithine

Toxicity studies, pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution ofDTPA-paclitaxel have shown that in mice the LD₅₀ (50% lethal dose) ofDPTA-paclitaxel observed with a single dose intravenous (iv) injectionis about 110 mg/kg body weight. Direct comparison with paclitaxel isdifficult to make because of the dose-volume constraints imposed bylimited solubility of paclitaxel and vehicle toxicity associated with ivadministration. However, in light of the present disclosure, one skilledin the art of chemotherapy would determine the effective and maximumtolerated doses (MTD) in a clinical study for use in human subjects.

In certain embodiments of the invention, a stent coated with thepolymer-paclitaxel conjugates may be used to prevent restenosis, theclosure of arteries following balloon angioplasty. Recent results inclinical trials using balloon-expandable stents in coronary angioplastyhave shown a significant benefit in patency and the reduction ofrestenosis compared to standard balloon angioplasty (Serruys et al.,1994). According to the response-to-injury hypothesis, neointimaformation is associated with increased cell proliferation. Currently,popular opinion holds that the critical process leading to vascularlesions in both spontaneous and accelerated atherosclerosis is smoothmuscle cell (SMC) proliferation (Phillips-Hughes and Kandarpa, 1996).Since SMC phenotypic proliferation after arterial injury mimics that ofneoplastic cells, it is possible that anti-cancer drugs may be useful toprevent neointimal SMC accumulation. Stents coated with polymer-linkedanti-proliferative agents that are capable of releasing these agentsover a prolonged period of time with sufficient concentration will thusprevent ingrowth of hyperplastic intima and media into the lumen therebyreducing restenosis.

Because paclitaxel has been shown to suppress collagen induced arthritisin a mouse model (Oliver et al. 1994), the formulations of the presentinvention are also contemplated to be useful in the treatment ofautoimmune and/or inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.Paclitaxel binding to tubulin shifts the equilibrium to stablemicrotubule polymers and makes this drug a strong inhibitor ofeukaryotic cell replication by blocking cells in the late G2 mitoticstage. Several mechanisms may be involved in arthritis suppression bypaclitaxel. For example, paclitaxel's phase specific cytotoxic effectsmay affect rapidly proliferating inflammatory cells, and furthermorepaclitaxel inhibits cell mitosis, migration, chemotaxis, intracellulartransport and neutrophil H₂O₂ production. In addition, paclitaxel mayhave antiangiogenic activity by blocking coordinated endothelial cellmigration (Oliver et al. 1994). Therefore, the water soluble polyaminoacids conjugated paclitaxel of the present invention are contemplated tobe useful in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The polymerconjugated formulation disclosed herein would also offer the advantagesof controlled release of the drug and greater solubility. It is also anaspect of the treatment of arthritis that the formulations may beinjected or implanted directly into the affected joint areas.

The pharmaceutical preparations of paclitaxel or docetaxel suitable forinjectable use include sterile aqueous solutions or dispersions andsterile powders for the preparation of sterile injectable solutions ordispersions. In all cases the form must be sterile and must be fluid forinjection. It must be stable under the conditions of manufacture andstorage and must be preserved against the contaminating action ofmicroorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. The carrier may be a solventor dispersion medium containing, for example, water, ethanol, polyol(for example, glycerol, propylene glycol, and liquid polyethyleneglycol, and the like), suitable mixtures thereof, and vegetable oils.The prevention of the action of microorganisms can be brought about byvarious antibacterial and antifungal agents, for example, parabens,chlorobutanol, phenol, sorbic acid, thimerosal, and the like. In manycases, it will be preferable to include isotonic agents, for example,sugars or sodium chloride.

Sterile injectable solutions are prepared by incorporating the activecompounds in the required amount in the appropriate solvent with variousof the other ingredients enumerated above, as required, followed byfiltered sterilization. Generally, dispersions are prepared byincorporating the various sterilized active ingredients into a sterilevehicle which contains the basic dispersion medium and the requiredother ingredients from those enumerated above. In the case of sterilepowders for the preparation of sterile injectable solutions, thepreferred methods of preparation are vacuum-drying and freeze-dryingtechniques which yield a powder of the active ingredient plus anyadditional desired ingredient from a previously sterile-filteredsolution thereof.

As used herein, “pharmaceutically acceptable carrier” includes any andall solvents, dispersion media, coatings, antibacterial and antifungalagents and isotonic agents and the like. The use of such media andagents for pharmaceutically active substances is well known in the art.Except insofar as any conventional media or agent is incompatible withthe active ingredient, its use in the therapeutic compositions iscontemplated. Supplementary active ingredients can also be incorporatedinto the compositions.

The phrase “pharmaceutically acceptable” also refers to molecularentities and compositions that do not produce an allergic or similaruntoward reaction when administered to an animal or a human.

For parenteral administration in an aqueous solution, for example, thesolution should be suitably buffered if necessary and the liquid diluentfirst rendered isotonic with sufficient saline or glucose. Theseparticular aqueous solutions are especially suitable for intravenous andintraperitoneal administration. In this connection, sterile aqueousmedia which can be employed will be known to those of skill in the artin light of the present disclosure.

The following examples are included to demonstrate preferred embodimentsof the invention. It should be appreciated by those of skill in the artthat the techniques disclosed in the examples which follow representtechniques discovered by the inventor to function well in the practiceof the invention, and thus can be considered to constitute preferredmodes for its practice. However, those of skill in the art should, inlight of the present disclosure, appreciate that many changes can bemade in the specific embodiments which are disclosed and still obtain alike or similar result without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention.

EXAMPLE 1 Poly-glutamic Acid-Paclitaxel (PG-TXL)

The present example concerns a first study involving the conjugation ofpaclitaxel to a water-soluble polymer, poly (l-glutamic acid) (PG) andthe efficacy of the preparation against a variety of tumors in mice andrats. The potential of water-soluble polymers used as drug carriers iswell established (Kopecek, 1990; Maeda and Matsumura, 1989).

Synthesis of Poly-gutamic Acid-Paclitaxel (PG-TXL)

PG was selected as a carrier for paclitaxel because it can be readilydegraded by lysosomal enzymes, is stable in plasma and containssufficient functional groups for drug attachment. Several antitumordrugs, including Adriamycin (Van Heeswijk et al., 1985; Hoes et al.,1985), cyclophosphamide (Hirano et al., 1979), Ara-C (Kato et al., 1984)and melphalan (Morimoto et al., 1984) have been conjugated to PG.However, poly-aspartic acid may be conjugated to anti-tumor drugs usingthe reaction scheme described herein for PG-TXL.

The reaction scheme is presented in FIG. 1B. Poly(l-glutamic acid) (PG)sodium salt was obtained from Sigma (St. Louis, Mo.). The polymer byviscosity had a molecular weight of 36,200, and number-average molecularweight (M_(n)) of 24,000 as determined by low-angle laser lightscattering (LALLS). Lot-specific polydispersity (M_(w)/M_(n)) was 1.15where M_(w) is weight-average molecular weight. PG sodium salt (MW 34 K,Sigma, 0.35 g) was first convened to PG in its proton form. The pH ofthe aqueous PG sodium salt solution was adjusted to 2.0 using 0.2 M HCl.The precipitate was collected, dialyzed against distilled water, andlyophilized to yield 0.29 g PG.

To a solution of PG (75 mg, repeating unit FW 170, 0.44 mmol) in dryN,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) (1.5 mL) was added 22 mg paclitaxel (0.026mmol, molar ratio PG/paclitaxel=17), 15 mg dicyclohexylcarbodiimide(DCC) (0.073 mmol) and trace amount of dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP).Paclitaxel was supplied by Hande Tech (Houston, Tex.), and the puritywas 99% and higher as confirmed by HPLC assay.

The reaction was allowed to proceed at room temperature for 12-18 h.Thin layer chromatography (TLC, silica) showed complete conversion ofpaclitaxel (Rf=0.55) to polymer conjugate (Rf=0, CHCl₃/MeOH=10:1). Tostop the reaction, the mixture was poured into chloroform. The resultingprecipitate was collected and dried in vacuum to yield 70 mgpolymer-drug conjugate. By changing the weight ratio of paclitaxel to PGin the starting materials, polymeric conjugates of various paclitaxelconcentrations can be synthesized.

The sodium salt of PG-TXL conjugate was obtained by dissolving theproduct in 1.0 M NaHCO₃. The aqueous solution of PG-TXL was dialyzedagainst distilled water (MWCO 10,000) to remove low molecular weightcontaminants and excess NaHCO3 salt. Lyophilization of the dialysateyielded 98 mg of product as a white powder. The paclitaxel content inthis polymeric conjugate as determined by UV was 20-22% (w/w). Yield:98% (conversion to polymer bound paclitaxel, UV). Solubility in water>20mg paclitaxel/ml. A similar method can be used to synthesize PG-TXL withhigher paclitaxel content (up to 35%) by simply increasing the ratio ofpaclitaxel to PG used.

Characterization of Poly-Glutamic Acid-Paclitaxel (PG-TXL)

Ultraviolet spectra were obtained on a Beckman DU-70 spectrophotometer,using the same concentration of PG aqueous solution as reference. PG-TXLshowed characteristic paclitaxel absorption with λ_(max) shifts from 228to 230 nm. The concentration of paclitaxel in PG-TXL conjugate wasestimated based on standard curve generated with known concentrations ofpaclitaxel in methanol at absorption of 228 nm, assuming that thepolymer conjugate in water at 230 nm and the free drug in methanol at228 nm have the same molar extinction and both follow Lambert Beer'slaw.

¹H-NMR spectra were recorded with GE model GN 500 (500 MHz) spectrometerin D₂O. Both the PG moieties and the paclitaxel moieties werediscernible. The couplings of polymer conjugated paclitaxel are toopoorly resolved to be measured with sufficient accuracy. Resonances at7.75 to 7.36 ppm are attributable to aromatic components of paclitaxelresonances at 6.38 ppm (C₁₀-H), 5.97 ppm (C₁₃-H), 5.63 ppm (C₂′-H, d),5.55-5.36 ppm (C₃′-H and C₂-H, m), 5.10 ppm (C₅-H), 4.39 ppm (C₇-H),4.10 (C₂₀-H), 1.97 ppm (OCOCH₃), and 1.18-1.20 ppm (C CH₃) aretentatively assigned to aliphatic components of paclitaxel. Otherresonances were obscured by the resonances of PG. PG resonances at 4.27ppm (H-α), 2.21 ppm (H-γ), and 2.04 ppm (H-β) are in accordance withpure PG spectrum. Although a peak at 5.63 ppm could be tentativelyassigned to the C-2′ proton of the C-2′ ester, the C-2′ proton ofunsubstituted paclitaxel at 4.78 ppm was also present, suggesting thatthe resulting conjugate may contain paclitaxel substitutions at both theC-2′ and C-7 positions. A 100 mg/ml solution of the conjugate produces aclear, viscous, yet flowable liquid. This procedure consistentlyproduces PG-TXL conjugate containing 20% of paclitaxel by weight, i.e.,approximately 7 paclitaxel molecules are bound to each polymer chain.

Gel Permeation Chromatography Studies of Poly-Glutamic Acid-Paclitaxel(PG-TXL)

The relative molecular weight of PG-TXL was characterized by gelpermeation chromatography (GPC). The GPC system consisted of two LDCmodel III pumps coupled with LDC gradient master, a PL gel GPC column,and a Waters 990 photodiode array detector. The elutant (DMF) was run at1.0 ml/min with ultraviolet (UV) detection set at 270 nm. For PG-TXLsodium salt, a TSK-gel column suitable for analysis of water-solublepolymer was used, and the system was eluted with 0.2 mM PBS (pH 6.8) at1.0 ml/min. Conjugation of paclitaxel to PG resulted in an increase inthe molecular weight of PG-TXL, as indicated by the shift of retentiontime from 6.4 min for PG to 5.0 min for PG-TXL conjugate. The crudeproduct contained small molecular weight contaminants (retention time8.0 to 10.0 min, and 11.3 min), which can be effectively removed byconvening PG-TXL to its sodium salt, followed by dialysis.

Hydrolytic Degradation of a Poly-Glutamic Acid-Paclitaxel (PG-TXL)Conjugate

To gain insight on the release kinetics of paclitaxel and relatedmolecular species from PG-TXL, the hydrolytic stability of PG-TXL wastested in PBS at various pH. High performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) revealed that incubation of PG-TXL in PBS solutions producedpaclitaxel and several other species including one that is morehydrophobic than paclitaxel (metabolite 1). The fact that these speciesall were derived from paclitaxel was confirmed through similardegradation studies using PG-[³H]TXL. Based on its retention time onHPLC, metabolite-1 is probably 7-epipaclitaxel, a biologically activeisomer of paclitaxel. In fact, the amount of metabolite 1 recovered inPBS surpassed that of paclitaxel after 5 days and 1 day of incubation atpH 7.4 and pH 9.5 respectively (FIG. 6). At pH 5.5 and pH 7.4, therelease profiles of metabolite 1 indicated pseudo-zero order kineticsand displayed a delay time varying from 3 days (pH 5.5) to 7 h (pH 7.4),suggesting that metabolite-1 is a secondary product. Apparently, PG-TXLis more stable in acidic solution than in basic solution.

In Vivo Antitumor Activity

All animal work was carried out at the animal facility at M.D. AndersonCancer Center in accordance with institutional guidelines. C3H/Kam micewere bred and maintained in a pathogen-free facility in the Departmentof Experimental Radiation Oncology.

The tumor growth delay induced by PG-TXL was measured in marine ovariancarcinoma (OCA-I) implanted in C3Hf/Kam mice. All tumors were syngeneicto this strain. Solitary tumors were produced in the muscle of the rightthigh of female C3H/Kam mice (25-30 g) by injecting 5×10⁵ murine ovariancarcinoma cells (OCA-I), mammary carcinoma (MCa-4), hepatocarcinoma(HCa-I) or fibrous sarcoma (FSa-II). In a parallel study, female Fischer344 rats (125-150 g) were injected with 1.0×10⁵ viable 13762F tumorcells in 0.1 ml PBS. Treatments were initiated when the tumors in micehad grown to 500 mm³ (10 mm in diameter), or when the tumors in rats hadgrown to 2400 mm³ (mean diameter 17 mm).

PG-TXL was disolved in saline (10 mg equivalent paclitaxel/ml), andpaclitaxel was dissolved in Cremophor EL® vehicle (6 mg/ml). Data arepresented as mean ± standard deviation of tumor volumes. In controlstudies, saline (0.6 ml), Cremophor vehicle [50/50 Cremophor/ethanoldiluted with saline (1:4)], PG solution in saline, and paclitaxel plusPG were used. The maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of PG-TXL and paclitaxelin normal female C3Hf/Kam mice was estimated to be 160 mg/kg and 80mg/kg respectively. A single dose of PG-TXL in saline or paclitaxel inCremophor EL vehicle was given in doses varying from 40 to 160 mg equiv.Paclitaxel/kg body weight. Tumor growth was determined daily (FIGS. 7A,7B, 7C, 7D and 7E) by measuring three orthogonal tumor diameters. Tumorvolume was calculated according to formula (A×B×C)/2. Absolute growthdelay (AGD) in mice is defined as the time in days for tumors treatedwith various drugs to grow from 500 to 2,000 mm³ in mice minus the timein days for tumors treated with saline control to grow from 500 to 2,000mm³. When the tumor size reached 2000 mm³, the tumor growth delay wascalculated; the mice were sacrificed when tumors were approximately 2500mm³. The PG-TXL group were (n=6 and 7), other each group were (n=5).Table 2 summarizes acute toxicity of PG paclitaxel in rats in comparisonwith paclitaxel/Cremophor. Table 3 summarizes the data concerning theeffect of PG-TXL against MCa-4, FSa-II and HCa-I tumors in mice. Thedata are also summarized in FIGS. 7A-7E.

TABLE 2 Acute Toxocity of PG-TXL in Fischer Rats* # of Body Time of FullDose Toxic Weight Time at Nadir Recovery Group (mg/kg) Death Loss in %(days) (days) PG-TXL^(a) 60 1/4 15.7 7 14 PG-TXL^(a) 40 0/4 11.1 6 11Paclitaxel^(b) 60 1/4 16.7 6 15 Paclitaxel^(b) 40 0/3 17.9 6 16Paclitaxel^(b) 20 0/5 17.0 5 N/A *Drugs were administered intravenouslyinto 13762F tumor-bearing Fischer rats (female, 130 g) in a singleinjection. ^(a)PG-TXL solution was prepared by dissolving the conjugatein saline (8 mg equiv. paclitaxel/ml). The injected volume at 60 mg/kgwas 0.975 ml per rat. ^(b)Paclitaxel Cremophor solution was prepared bydissolving paclitaxel in a 1:1 mixture of ethyl alcohol and Cremophor(30 mg/ml). This stock solution was further diluted with saline (1:4)before injection. The final concentration of paclitaxel in the solutionwas 6 mg/ml. The injected volume at 60 mg/kg was 1.3 ml per rat. ^(c)PGsolution was prepared by dissolving the polymer in saline (22 mg/ml).The injected dose was 0.3 g/kg (1.8 ml per rat), which was equivalent topaclitaxel dose of 60 mg/kg. ^(d)Cremophor vehicle was prepared bydiluting a mixture of ethyl alcohol and Cremophor (1:1) with saline(1:4).

TABLE 3 The Antitumor Effect of PG-TXL Against Different Types of Invivo Murine Tumors Time to Grow^(bb) Tumor Drug^(a) 500-2000 mm³ AGD^(c)t-test^(d) MCa-4 Saline 4.8 ± 0.8 (5) — — PG (0.6 g/kg) 9.3 ± 1.1 (4)4.5 0.0114 Cremophor Vehicle 6.1 ± 0.7 (5) 1.3 0.265 PG-TXL (40 mg/kg)8.6 ± 1.2 (4) 3.8 0.026 PG-TXL (60 mg/kg) 14.2 ± 1.1 (5)  9.4 0.0001PG-TXL (120 mg/kg) 44.4 ± 2.9 (5)  39.6 <0.0001 Paclitaxel (40 mg/kg)9.0 ± 0.6 (4) 4.2 0.0044 Paclitaxel (60 mg/kg) 9.3 ± 0.3 (5) 4.5 0.0006FSa-II Saline 1.9 ± 0.1 (5) — — PG (0.8 g/kg) 2.8 ± 0.2 (6) 0.9 0.0043Cremophor Vehicle 2.2 ± 0.2 (6) 0.3 0.122 PG-TXL (80 mg/kg) 3.8 ± 0.4(6) 1.9 0.0016 PG-TXL (160 mg/kg)  5.1 ± 0.3 (13) 3.2 <0.0001 Paclitaxel(80 mg/kg) 4.2 ± 0.3 (6) 2.3 0.0002 PG + Paclitaxel 3.0 ± 0.2 (6) 1.10.0008 HCa-I Saline 7.3 ± 0.3 (5) — — PG (0.8 g/kg) 7.7 ± 0.4 (4) 0.40.417 Cremophor Vehicle 6.8 ± 0.8 (5) −0.5 0.539 PG-TXL (40 mg/kg) 8.2 ±0.7 (5) 0.9 0.218 PG-TXL (80 mg/kg) 8.6 ± 0.2 (5) 1.3 0.0053 PG-TXL (160mg/kg) 11.0 ± 0.8 (4)  3.7 0.0023 Paclitaxel (80 mg/kg) 6.4 ± 0.5 (5)−0.9 0.138 PG + Paclitaxel 6.7 ± 0.4 (5) −0.6 0.294 ^(a)Mice bearing 500mm³ tumors in the right leg were treated with various doses of PG-TXL(40-160 mg equiv. paclitaxel/kg) in saline or paclitaxel in Cremophorvehicle i.v. in a single injection. Control animals were treated withsaline (0.6 ml), Cremophor vehicle (0.5 ml), PG solution in saline, orPG g/kg) plus paclitaxel (80 mg/kg). ^(b)Tumor growth was determined bydaily measurement of three orthogonal diameters with calipers and thevolume was calculated as (A × B × C)/2. Shown in brackets are the numberof mice used in each group. The time in days to grow from 500 mm³ to2000 mm³ are presented mean ± standard deviation. ^(c)Absolute growthdelay (AGD) defined as the time in days for tumors treated with variousdrugs to grow from 500 to 2000 mm³ minus the time in days for tumorstreated with saline control to grow from 500 to 2000 mm³. ^(d)The timein days to grow from 500 to 2000 mm³ were compared for treatment groupsand saline group using Student's t-Test. P-values are two-sided and weretaken to be significant when less that to equal 0.05.

Two important findings emerged from these studies. First, likepaclitaxel, there is an intertumor variability of the antitumor effectof water-soluble PG-TXL. PG-TXL is most effective against MCa-4 andOCA-1 tumors. Second, PG-TXL is more effective than paclitaxel onequivalent mg paclitaxel basis in the case of MCa-4, HCa-I, and on OCA-1tumors, and is remarkably potent at its maximum tolerated dose (MTD).

In a parallel study, the antitumor activity of PG-TXL in Fischer ratswith the well established rat mammary adenocarcinoma 13762F wasexamined. Female Fischer 344 rats (125-150 g) were injected with 1.0×10⁵viable 13762F tumor cells in 0.1 ml PBS. Once tumors reached a meanvolume of 2000 mm³ (mean diameter, 1.6 cm), animals were treated using asimilar protocol as described above. Tumor growth was determined dailyby measuring three orthogonal tumor diameters. Tumor volume wascalculated according to the formula (A×B×C)/2. A single dose of PG-TXLin saline or paclitaxel in a Cremophor EL® vehicle was given in dosesvarying from 20 to 60 mg equivalent paclitaxel/kg body weight. Incontrol studies, saline, the Cremophor EL® vehicle [50/50Cremophor/ethanol diluted with saline (1:4)], PG solution in saline andpaclitaxel plus PG were used. Again, complete tumor eradication at theMTD of PG-TXL (60 mg equivalent paclitaxel/kg) was observed. PG-TXLgiven at a lower dose of 40 mg equivalent paclitaxel/kg also resulted incomplete tumor regression (FIG. 7B). In contrast, the MTD of paclitaxelin Cremophor EL® was less than 20 mg/kg. Paclitaxel at this dose causeda tumor growth delay (Tumor growth delay is defined as the time in daysfor tumors treated with the test drugs to grow from 2,000 mm³ to 10,000mm³ minus the time in days for tumors treated with saline control togrow from 2,000 mm³ to 10,000 mm³.) of only 5 days, whereas the sameequivalent paclitaxel dose of PG-TXL resulted in a tumor growth delay of23 days (FIG. 7B).

Studies of Nude Mice Injected with Human Breast Cancer and Treated withPG-TXL

Nude mice were injected with 2×10⁶ MDA-435-Lung2 cells (a variant of theMDA-MB-435 human breast cancer cell line) into the mammary fatpad. Whenthe tumors reached 5 mm mean diameter, (27 days after tumor injection),mice were treated with an i.v. injection of PG-TXL or the variouscontrols (see Table 4). Tumor measurements were taken weekly. Tumorsthat reached 1.5 cm were removed surgically. All mice were killed at 120days, and remaining tumors removed and weighed. Mice were examined formetastases, and lungs processed for histology, with single sections ofthe organs scored for the presence of micrometastases.

TABLE 4 No. Tumor Mean tumor tumors Lung Treatment take^(a) wt (g)^(b)regressed^(c) metastases^(d) PBS 5/6  1.3 ± 0.24 — 4/5 (80%) Cremophor9/9 1.26 ± 0.67 — 4/8 (50%) PGA 10/10 1.13 ± 0.7  — 4/7 (57%)Taxol ™/Cremophor 10/10 1.31 ± 0.69 — 3/7 (42%) 60 mg/kg PG-TXL 60 mg/kg10/10 1.23 ± 0.38 2/10   5/8 (62.5%) PG-TXL 120 mg/kg  9/10 0.925 ±0.12  4/8  1/4 (25%) ^(a)Number of mice with 5 mm tumors at time oftherapy/number of mice injected ^(b)Mean weight of tumors removed attime of autopsy ^(c)Number of tumors that had regressed at time ofautopsy ^(d)Number of mice with lung metastases (either macroscopic orfound in histology preparations)/number of mice with tumors. Somediscrepancies between tumor take and number mice with tumors in thiscolumn due to sacrifice or deaths of animals for non-related reasons,e.g., developing Staphylococcus abscesses. One mouse in PG-TXL 120 mggroup was killed due to extreme weight loss after treatment; otherwisethere were no obvious therapy related deaths. Nude mice couldn'ttolerate 160 mg/kg equivalent of PG-TXL.

From the results of the study in which a single bolus of PG-conjugatedpaclitaxel (PG-TXL) was given, at a drug equivalent of 120 mg/kgpaclitaxel, it is apparent that the MDA-435 cancer cell line responds tothe drug and that this formulation of the drug is much better toleratedthan when Cremophor is the vehicle.

In the breast cancer study using MDA-MB-435, only the higher dose ofPG-TXL inhibited the growth rate of the mammary fatpad tumors. From thegrowth curve it was apparent that tumor growth resumed approximately 30days after the single dose of conjugate. However, the growth curve doesnot reveal that in the PG-TXL 120 mg/kg group there were a number oftumor regressions. As shown in Table 3, the incidence of lung metastasisin the mice with residual tumors was also reduced. While the numbers ofmice in the study are small, they do suggest that the therapy waseffective in reducing both local tumor growth and incidence ofmetastasis.

In this study design it is not possible to distinguish whether a lowerincidence of metastasis is due to a reduction of tumor mass of theprimary site, or due to a direct effect on any micrometastases that mayhave already been established at the time of therapy.

In Vivo Therapy of Human Breast Cancer Using Multiple Injections ofPG-TXL

To test the effect of multiple injections of PG-TXL, nude mice wereinjected with 2×10⁶; MDA-435-Lung 2 cells (a variant of the MDA-MB-435human breast cancer cell line) into the mammary fatpad. When the tumorsreached 5 mm mean diameter, the treatments were started, and repeated at14 day intervals (day 24, 38, 52) for a total of three injections. Tumormeasurements were taken weekly. The mice were killed on day 105 aftertumor cell injection, and the tumor weights and incidence of metastasisrecorded. The lungs were processed for histology, and single sectionsscored for the presence of micrometastases. The results are shown inTable 5.

TABLE 5 Tumors Treatment Tumor take^(a) Mean weight (g)^(b)regressed^(c) Metastasis^(d) None 4/5 1.83 ± 0.15 — 4/4 (100%)PG-control  6/10  1.7 ± 0.11 — 5/6 (83%)  PG-TXL/60  7/10 1.36 ± 0.28 —6/7 (86%)  mg PG-TXL/120  8/10 0.97 ± 0.22 p = 2/8 2/6 (33%)  mg 0.011eLegend: ^(a)Number of mice with 5 mm tumors at the time oftherapy/number of mice injected ^(b)Mean weight of tumors (±SEM)^(c)Number of tumors that had regressed at the time of autopsy^(d)Number of mice with lung metastases, either macroscopic ormicroscopic/number of mice with tumors ^(e)p value from unpaired t testcomparing tumor weight of treated mice with the control PG group.

In Vivo Therapy of Human Ovarian Cancer Using PG-TXL Conjugate

Nude mice were injected i.p. with the human ovarian cancer cell line,SKOV3ip1. Five days after tumor injection, the mice were injected i.v.with the PG-paclitaxel (PG-TXL), at concentrations equivalent to 120mg/kg or 160 mg/kg of paclitaxel. Initially the plan was to repeat theseinjections at 7-day intervals, but a single injection of the 160 mg/kgdose killed 5 of the 10 mice. Only the 120 mg/kg group received threeinjections. The study was terminated on day 98, and any surviving micekilled. The results are shown in FIG. 14, and in Table 6.

The median survival values for the groups at present are: untreated=47days, PC-control=43 days, PG-TXL (120 mg/kg)=83 days, PG-TXL (160mg/kg)=83 days [note that this does not include the mice that died fromthe initial toxicity of the drug].

TABLE 6 Median Treatment Tumor take^(a) survival (range)^(b) Ascites^(c)Mean vol (ml)^(d) None 10/10 56 (38-98)  8/10 2.2 ± 1.6 PG-control 8/945 (39-98)  8/8  2.2 ± 1.6 PG-120 7/8 82 (59-98)  3/7  2.7 ± 1.4 PG-160 3/5^(e) 84 (34^(f)-98) 0/3  — Legends: ^(a)Incidence of tumor/number ofmice injected ^(b)median survival time in days ^(c)incidence ofascites/number of mice with tumor ^(d)mean volume (and s.d.) of ascites^(e)these mice only received a single dose of PG-paclitaxel, 160 mg/kg,and does not include the mice that dies within 5 days of the treatment^(f)the mouse that was killed on day 34 had minimal tumor burden, butwas paraplegic (possible toxicity?).

The PG-TXL 120 mg/kg significantly extended the survival of the micewith intraperitoneal SKOV3ipl, (a human ovarian cancer cell line whichoverexpresses HER2/neu), compared with mice injected with PG alone.Multiple doses and/or increasing the dose of conjugate may significantlyreduce the tumor incidence in addition to extending survival.

In the nude mice studies above, the growth curves show that althoughbreast cancer growth is checked by paclitaxel, especially with thehigher dose conjugated with PG, tumor size continues to increase about amonth after the therapy. A second (or third) round of therapy may havecaused the tumor growth to plateau, or give more tumor regressions. Thegrowth curves do not include the tumors that regressed—as shown in Table4, the tumors shrank/disappeared in 50% of the mice treated with thehighest dose of PG-TXL, and of the 4 animals with progressively growingtumors at the end of the study, only one had micrometastases in thelungs. So the treatment that reduced growth of the primary tumors alsoreduced the incidence of metastasis. The incidence of metastasis in allother therapy groups, including the control groups of Cremophor and PGwere lower than the PBS control, therefore it is probably not valid tostate that the reduction in incidence of metastasis in theTaxol™/Cremophor group is a significant finding.

EXAMPLE 2 DTPA-Paclitaxel

Synthesis of DTPA-Paclitaxel:

To a solution of paclitaxel (100 mg, 0.117 mmol) in dry DMF (2.2 ml) wasadded diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid anhydride (DTPA A) (210 mg,0.585 mmol) at 0° C. The reaction mixture was stirred at 4° C.overnight. The suspension was filtered (0.2 μm Millipore filter) toremove unreacted DTPA anhydride. The filtrate was poured into distilledwater, stirred at 4° C. for 20 min, and the precipitate collected. Thecrude product was purified by preparative TLC over C₁₈ silica gel platesand developed in acetonitrile/water (1:1). Paclitaxel had an R_(f) valueof 0.34. The band above the paclitaxel with an R_(f) value of 0.65 to0.75 was removed by scraping and eluted with an acetonitrile/water (1:1)mixture, and the solvent was removed to give 15 mg of DTPA-paclitaxel asproduct (yield 10.4%): mp: >226° C. dec. The UV spectrum (sodium salt inwater) showed maximal absorption at 228 nm which is also characteristicfor paclitaxel. Mass spectrum: (FAB) m/e 1229 (M+H)⁺, 1251 (M+Na), 1267(M+K). In the ¹H NMR spectrum (DMSO-d₆) the resonance of NCH₂CH₂N andCH₂COOH of DTPA appeared as a complex series of signals at δ 2.71-2.96ppm, and as a multiplet at δ 3.42 ppm, respectively. The resonance ofC7-H at 4.10 ppm in paclitaxel shifted to 5.51 ppm, suggestingesterification at the 7-position. The rest of the spectrum wasconsistent with the structure of paclitaxel.

The sodium salt of DTPA-paclitaxel was also obtained by adding asolution of DTPA-paclitaxel in ethanol into an equivalent amount of 0.05M NaHCO₃, followed by lyophilizing to yield a water-soluble solid powder(solubility>20 mg equivalent paclitaxel/ml).

Hydrolytic Stability of DTPA-Paclitaxel:

The hydrolytic stability of DTPA-paclitaxel was studied underaccelerated conditions. Briefly, 1 mg of DTPA-paclitaxel was dissolvedin 1 ml 0.5 M NaHCO₃ aqueous solution (pH 9.3) and analyzed by HPLC. TheHPLC system consisted of a Waters 150×3.9 (i.d.) mm Nova-Pak columnfilled with C18 4 μm silica gel, a Perkin-Elmer isocratic LC pump, a PENelson 900 series interface, a Spectra-Physics UV/Vis detector and adata station. The eluant (acetonitrile/methanol/0.02M ammoniumacetate=4:1:5) was run at 1.0 ml/min with UV detection at 228 nm. Theretention times of DTPA-paclitaxel and paclitaxel were 1.38 and 8.83min, respectively. Peak areas were quantitated and compared withstandard curves to determine the DTPA-paclitaxel and paclitaxelconcentrations. The estimated half-life of DTPA-paclitaxel in 0.5 MNaHCO₃ solution is about 16 days at room temperature.

Effects of DTPA-Paclitaxel on the Growth of B16 Mouse Melanoma Cells InVitro:

Cells were seeded in 24-well plates at a concentration of 2.5×10⁴cells/ml and grown in a 50:50 Dulbecco's modified minimal essentialmedium (DEM) and F12 medium containing 10% bovine calf serum at 37° C.for 24 h in a 97% humidified atmosphere of 5.5% CO₂. The medium was thenreplaced with fresh medium containing paclitaxel or DTPA-paclitaxel inconcentration ranging from 5×10⁻⁹ M to 75×10⁻⁹ M. After 40 h, the cellswere released by trypsinization and counted in a Coulter counter. Thefinal concentrations of DMSO (used to dissolve paclitaxel) and 0.05 Msodium bicarbonate solution (used to dissolve DTPA-paclitaxel) in thecell medium were less than 0.01%. This amount of solvent did not haveany effect on cell growth as determined by control studies.

The effects of DTPA-paclitaxel on the growth of B16 melanoma cells arepresented in FIG. 2. After a 40-h incubation with variousconcentrations, DTPA-paclitaxel and paclitaxel were compared as tocytotoxicity. The IC₅₀ for paclitaxel and DTPA-paclitaxel are 15 nM and7.5 nM, respectively.

Antitumor Effect on Mammary Carcinoma (MCa-4) Tumor Model:

Female C3Hf/Kam mice were inoculated with mammary carcinoma (MCa-4) inthe muscles of the right thigh (5×10⁵ cells/mouse). When the tumors hadgrown to 8 mm (approx. 2 wks), a single dose of paclitaxel orDTPA-paclitaxel was given at 10, 20 and 40 mg equivalent paclitaxel/kgbody weight. In control studies, saline and absolute alcohol/Cremophor50/50 diluted with saline (1:4) were used. Tumor growth was determineddaily, by measuring three orthogonal tumor diameters. When the tumorsize reached 12 mm in diameter, the tumor growth delay was calculated.The mice were sacrificed when tumors were approximately 15 mm.

The tumor growth curve is shown in FIG. 3. Compared to controls, bothpaclitaxel and DTPA-paclitaxel showed antitumor effect at a dose of 40mg/kg. The data were also analyzed to determine the mean number of daysfor the tumor to reach 12 mm in diameter. Statistical analysis showedthat DTPA-paclitaxel delayed tumor growth significantly compared to thesaline treated control at a dose of 40 mg/kg (p<0.01). The mean time forthe tumor to reach 12 mm in diameter was 12.1 days for DTPA-paclitaxelcompared to 9.4 days for paclitaxel (FIG. 4).

Radiolabeling of DTPA-Paclitaxel with ¹¹¹In

Into a 2-ml V-vial were added successively 40 μl 0.6 M sodium acetate(pH 5.3) buffer, 40 μl 0.06 M sodium citrate buffer (pH 5.5), 20 μlDTPA-paclitaxel solution in ethanol (2% w/v) and 20 μl ¹¹¹InCl₃ solution(1.0 mCi) in sodium acetate buffer (pH 5.5). After an incubation periodof 30 min at room temperature, the labeled ¹¹¹In-DTPA-paclitaxel waspurified by passing the mixture through a C18 Sep-Pac cartridge usingsaline and subsequently ethanol as the mobile phase. Free ¹¹¹n-DTPA(<3%) was removed by saline, while ¹¹¹In-DTPA-paclitaxel was collectedin the ethanol wash. The ethanol was evaporated under nitrogen gas andthe labeled product was reconstituted in saline. Radiochemical yield:84%.

Analysis of ¹¹¹In-DTPA-Paclitaxel:

HPLC was used to analyze the reaction mixture and purity of¹¹¹In-DTPA-paclitaxel. The system consisted of a LDC binary pump, a100×8.0 mm (i.d.) Waters column filled with ODS 5 μm silica gel. Thecolumn was eluted at a flow rate of 1 ml/min with a gradient mixture ofwater and methanol (gradient from 0% to 85% methanol over 15 min). Thegradient system was monitored with a NaI crystal detector and aSpectra-Physics UV/Vis detector. As evidenced by HPLC analysis,purification by Sep-Pak cartridge removed most of the ¹¹¹In-DTPA, whichhad a retention time of 2.7 min. The ¹¹¹In-DTPA was probably derivedfrom traces of DTPA contaminant in the DTPA-paclitaxel. Aradio-chromatogram of ¹¹¹In-DTPA-paclitaxel correlated with its UVchromatogram, indicating that the peak at 12.3 min was indeed the targetcompound. Under the same chromatographic conditions, paclitaxel had aretention time of 17.1 min. The radiochemical purity of the finalpreparation was 90% as determined by HPLC analysis.

Whole-Body Scintigraphy:

Female C3Hf/Kam mice were inoculated with mammary carcinoma (MCa-4) inthe muscles of the right thigh (5×10⁵ cells). When the tumors had grownto 12 mm in diameter, the mice were divided into two groups. In group I,the mice were anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of sodiumpentobarbital, followed by ¹¹¹In-DTPA-paclitaxel (100-200 mCi) via tailvein. A γ-camera equipped with a medium energy collimator was positionedover the mice (3 per group). A series of 5 min acquisitions werecollected at 5, 30, 60, 120, 240 min and 24 h after injection. In groupII, the same procedures were followed except that the mice were injectedwith ¹¹¹In-DTPA as a control. FIG. 5 shows gamma-scintigraphs of animalsinjected with ¹¹¹In-DTPA and ¹¹¹In-DTPA-paclitaxel. ¹¹¹In-DTPA wascharacterized by rapid clearance from the plasma, rapid and highexcretion in the urine with minimal retention in the kidney andnegligible retention in the tumor, the liver, the intestine and otherorgans or body parts. In contrast, ¹¹¹In-DTPA-paclitaxel exhibited apharmacological profile resembling that of paclitaxel (Eiseman et al.,1994). Radioactivity in the brain was negligible. Liver and kidney hadthe greatest tissue:plasma ratios. Hepatobiliary excretion ofradiolabeled DTPA-paclitaxel or its metabolites was one of the majorroutes for the clearance of the drug from the blood. Unlike paclitaxel,a significant amount of ¹¹¹In-DTPA-paclitaxel was also excreted throughkidney, which only played a minor role in the clearance of paclitaxel.The tumor had significant uptake of ¹¹¹In-DTPA-paclitaxel. These resultsdemonstrate that ¹¹¹In-DTPA-paclitaxel is able to detect certain tumorsand to quantify the uptake of ¹¹¹In-DTPA-paclitaxel in the tumors, whichin turn, may assist in the selection of patients for the paclitaxeltreatment. In contrast, the smaller PG-TXL conjugate has a differentdistrubution than DTPA-paclitaxel, and partly localizes in the liver andtumors of test animals.

EXAMPLE 3 Polyethylene glycol-Paclitaxel

Synthesis of Polyethylene Glycol-Paclitaxel (PEG-Paclitaxel)

The synthesis was accomplished in two steps. First2′-succinyl-paclitaxel was prepared according to a reported procedure(Deutsch et al., 1989). Paclitaxel (200 mg, 0.23 mmol) and succinicanhydride (288 mg, 2.22 mmol) were allowed to react in anhydrouspyridine (6 ml) at room temperature for 3 h. The pyridine was thenevaporated, and the residue was treated with water, stirred for 20 min,and filtered. The precipitate was dissolved in acetone, water was slowlyadded, and the fine crystals were collected to yield 180 mg2′-succinyl-paclitaxel. PEG-paclitaxel was synthesized by anN-ethoxycarbonyl-2-ethoxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline (EEDQ) mediated couplingreaction. To a solution of 2′-succinyl-paclitaxel (160 mg, 0.18 mmol)and methoxypolyoxyethylene amine (PEG-NH₂, MW 5000, 900 mg, 0.18 mmol)in methylene chloride was added EEDQ (180 mg, 0.72 mmol). The reactionmixture was stirred at room temperature for 4 h. The crude product waschromatographed on silica gel with ethyl acetate followed bychloroform-methanol (10:1). This gave 350 mg of product. ¹H NMR (CDCl₃)δ 2.76 (m, succinic acid, COCH₂CH₂CO₂), δ 3.63 (PEG, OCH₂CH₂O), δ 4.42(C7-H) and δ 5.51 (C2′-H). Maximal UV absorption was at 288 nm which isalso characteristic for paclitaxel. Attachment to PEG greatly improvedthe aqueous solubility of paclitaxel (>20 mg equivalent paclitaxel/mlwater).

Hydrolytic Stability of PEG-Paclitaxel

PEG-Paclitaxel was dissolved in phosphate buffer (0.01M) at various pHsat a concentration of 0.4 mM and the solutions were allowed to incubateat 37° C. with gentle shaking. At selected time intervals, aliquots (200μl) were removed and lyophilized. The resulting dry powders wereredissolved in methylene chloride for gel permeation chromatography (GPCanalysis). The GPC system consisted of a Perkin-Elmer PL gel mixed bedcolumn, a Perkin-Elmer isocratic LC pump, a PE Nelson 900 seriesinterface, a Spectra-Physics UV/Vis detector and a data station. Theelutant (methylene chloride) was run at 1.0 ml/min with the UV detectorset at 228 nm. The retention times of PEG-paclitaxel and paclitaxel were6.1 and 8.2 min, respectively. Peak areas were quantified and thepercentage of PEG-paclitaxel remaining and the percentage of paclitaxelreleased were calculated. The half life of PEG-paclitaxel determined bylinear least-squares at pH 7.4 was 54 min. The half-life at pH 9.0 was7.6 min. Release profiles of paclitaxel from PEG-paclitaxel at pH 7.4 isshown in FIG. 8.

Cytotoxicity Studies of PEG-Paclitaxel Using B16 Mouse Melanoma Cells InVitro

Following the procedure described in the cytotoxicity studies withDTPA-paclitaxel, melanoma cells were seeded in 24-well plates at aconcentration of 2.5×10⁴ cells/ml and grown in a 50:50 Dulbecco'smodified minimal essential medium (DME) and F12 medium containing 10%bovine calf serum at 37° C. for 24 h in a 97% humidified atmosphere of5.5% CO₂. The medium was then replaced with fresh medium containingpaclitaxel or its derivatives in concentrations ranging from 5×10⁻⁹ M to75×10⁻⁹ M. After 40 h, the cells were released by trypsinization andcounted in a Coulter counter. The final concentrations of DMSO (used todissolve paclitaxel) and 0.05 M sodium bicarbonate solution (used todissolve PEG-paclitaxel) in the cell medium were less than 0.01%. Thisamount of solvent did not have any effect on cell growth as determinedby control studies. Furthermore, PEG in the concentration range used togenerate an equivalent paclitaxel concentration from 5×10⁻⁹ M to 75×10⁻⁹M also did not effect cell proliferation.

Antitumor Effect of PEG-Paclitaxel Against MCa-4 Tumor in Mice

To evaluate the antitumor efficacy of PEG-paclitaxel against solidbreast tumors, MCa-4 cells (5×10⁵ cells) were injected into the rightthigh muscle of female C3Hf/Kam mice. As described in Example 1 with theDTPA-paclitaxel, when the tumors were grown to 8 mm (Approx. 2 wks), asingle dose of paclitaxel or PEG-paclitaxel was given at 10, 20 and at40 mg equivalent paclitaxel/kg body weight. Paclitaxel was initiallydissolved in absolute ethanol with an equal volume of Cremophor. Thisstock solution was further diluted (1:4 by volume) with a sterilephysiological solution within 15 min of injection. PEG-paclitaxel wasdissolved in saline (6 mg equiv. paclitaxel/ml) and filtered through asterile filter (Millipore, 4.5 μm). Saline, paclitaxel vehicle, absolutealcohol:Cremophor (1:1) diluted with saline (1:4) and PEG solution insaline (600 mg/kg body weight) were used in control studies. Tumorgrowth was determined daily, by measuring three orthogonal tumordiameters. When the tumor size reached 12 mm in diameter, the tumorgrowth delay was calculated.

The tumor growth curve is shown in FIG. 9. At a dose of 40 mg/kg, bothPEG-paclitaxel and paclitaxel effectively delayed tumor growth.Paclitaxel was more effective than PEG-paclitaxel, although thedifference was not statistically significant. Paclitaxel treated tumorsrequired 9.4 days to reach 12 mm in diameter whereasPEG-paclitaxel-treated tumors required 8.5 days. Statistically, thesevalues were significant (ρ>0.05) as compared to their correspondingcontrols, which were 6.7 days for the paclitaxel vehicle and 6.5 daysfor the saline solution of PEG (FIG. 4).

EXAMPLE 5 Poly(L-glutamic acid)-Paclitaxel (PG-TXL) and PaclitaxelPharmacological Properties

The objective of this study was to compare PG-TXL and paclitaxelpharmacological properties in their ability to promote in vitro assemblyof tubulin, to inhibit cell growth against rat mammary tumor cell line13762F and human breast tumor cell lines, to induce p53 protein, and torescue a paclitaxel-dependent mutant cell line. Paclitaxel's releasefrom PG-TXL in vivo was measured to determine if PG-TXL's mechanism ofaction can be attributed to free pacitaxel.

Microtubule Polymerization Using Poly-Glutamic Acid-Paclitaxel (PG-TXL)and Paclitaxel

To test whether intact PG-TXL has any intrinsic biological activity inpromoting tubulin polymerization, paclitaxel, PG-TXL, and “aged” PG-TXLwere compared for their relative ability to promote in vitro assembly ofpurified bovine brain tubulin. The tubulin assembly reaction wasperformed at 32° C. in PEM buffer (80 mM PIPES buffer, 1 mM EGTA, 1 mMMgCl₂, pH 6.9) at a tubulin (bovine brain, Cytoskeleton Inc., Boulder,Colo.) concentration of 1 mg/ml (10 μM) in the presence or absence ofdrugs (1.0 μM equivalent paclitaxel) and 1.0 mM guanosine5′-triphosphate (GTP). “Aged” PG-TXL was obtained by placing PG-TXL inPBS (pH 7.4) at 37° C. for 3 days. Tubulin polymerization was followedby measuring the absorbance of the solution at 340 nm over time.Addition of 1 μM paclitaxel to a solution of tubulin in assembly buffercaused a clear increase in absorbance due to the increase in lightscattering resulting from the polymerization of tubulin intomicrotubules. In contrast, a 10 μM paclitaxel equivalent of PG-TXL hadno effect on polymerization. A solution of the conjugate that was “aged”for 3 days in PBS (pH 7.4) at 37° C. exhibited enhanced activityalthough its ability to promote tubulin polymerization was stillmarkedly less than paclitaxel (FIG. 10).

Effects of Poly-Glutamic Acid-Paclitaxel (PG-TXL) on the Growth of Ratand Human Tumor Cell Lines In Vitro

To evaluate whether the superior antitumor activity of PG-TXL observedin animals is due to increased cytotoxicity, PG-TXL and paclitaxel werecompared for their ability to inhibit cell growth against theestablished rat mammary tumor cell line 13762F. The effect of PG-TXL oncell growth was examined by a plating efficiency assay. Rat 13762F cellswere seeded (200 cells) into 60 mm dishes containing drug concentrationsvarying from 0 to 200 nM in growth medium (cc modified minimum essentialmedium [α-MEM] containing 5% fetal bovine serum, 50 U/ml of penicillin,and 50 μg/ml of streptomycin). After 6 days of growth, the cells werestained with a 0.1% methylene blue solution and colonies were counted.The drug concentration producing 50% inhibition of colony formation(IC₅₀) was then calculated. The approximate IC₅₀ values after 6 days ofcontinuous exposure were: paclitaxel (2 nM), PG-TXL (100 nM), “aged”(see below) PG-TXL (50 nM). It is clear that PG-TXL is approximately30-50 fold less potent than paclitaxel itself. When PG-TXL was incubatedin phosphate buffered saline solution (PBS, pH 74) at 37° C. for 3 daysto obtain an “aged” solution, only about 10% of paclitaxel was released.Since the “aged” solution is more potent than freshly dissolved PG-TXL,the in vitro degradation of PG-TXL or release of active drug appears tobe important for PG-TXL to exert this biological activity. However, evenafter “aging,” PG-TXL is still 25 times less potent than paclitaxel.

In a similar study, the effect of PG-TXL on cell growth of human breastcancer cell lines was examined by MTT assay after 3 days of continuousexposure. While PG-TXL was 8-and 30-fold more potent than paclitaxelagainst MDA330 and MDA-MB453 cell lines, PG-TXL was 2- and 3-fold lesspotent than paclitaxel against MCF7/her-2 and MCF7 cell lines. Theseresults suggest that PG-TXL and paclitaxel have different activityagainst different cell lines. PG-TXL may be a product with distinctpharmacological properties different from that of paclitaxel.

The Ability of Poly-Glutamic Acid-Paclitaxel (PG-TXL) to Support aPaclitaxel-Dependent Cell Line In Vitro

The inventors investigated the ability of PG-TXL to rescue apaclitaxel-dependent mutant cell line. Tax 18, a CHO cell line selectedfor resistance to paclitaxel, is a well characterized mutant that hasbeen found to require the continuous presence of paclitaxel for celldivision. In the absence of drug, a functional mitotic spindle apparatusis unable to form (Cabral et al., 1983). The mitosis phase of the cellcycle is prolonged with subsequent failure to segregate chromosomes andto divide into daughter cells. Nonetheless, the cells continue toprogress through the cell cycle and replicate their DNA resulting in theformation of large polyploid cells that eventually die due to genomicinstability (Cabras and Barlow, 1991). Low concentrations of paclitaxelare able to rescue the mutant phenotype by permitting microtubuleassembly and the formation of sufficient mitotic spindle fibers. Thus,these cells provide a convenient bioassay for agents that promotemicrotubule assembly. Growth of paclitaxel-dependent CHO mutant Tax-18cells was carried out on 24-well tissue culture dishes. Approximately100 cells were added to wells containing growth medium and equivalentconcentrations of paclitaxel varying from 0 to 1.0 μM. After 6 days ofincubation at 37° C., the medium was removed and the cells were stainedwith methylene blue.

Little or no increase in cell number is seen in the absence of drug, butconcentrations of paclitaxel between 0.05-0.2 μM clearly support thegrowth of this cell line. Higher concentrations of paclitaxel arepresumably toxic to the cells because of overstabilization of themicrotubules as is observed for normal cells. On the other hand, freshlyprepared PG-TXL shows little ability to rescue Tax-18 cell growth evenat the highest paclitaxel-equivalent concentration tested (1 μM). WhenPG-TXL was “aged” by incubating in PBS for 6 days at 37° C., its abilityto support Tax-18 cell growth was partially restored. These dataindicate that PG-TXL does not promote microtubule assembly, and that thein vitro biological activity of “aged” PG-TXL is a contribution ofpaclitaxel released from poly-glutamic acid-paclitaxel (PG-TXL).

The Release of [³H]paclitaxel from PG-[³H]TXL In Vivo

To assess the pharmacokinetic and release characteristics of paclitaxelin vivo, normal female C3Hf/Kam mice (25-30 g) were injected with a doseof 20 mg equivalent [³H]paclitaxel or PG-[³H]paclitaxel intravenouslyinto the tail vein. Each mouse received 6 μCi of radiolabeled drug.[³H]paclitaxel was dissolved in Cremophor EL® vehicle whereasPG-[³H]paclitaxel was dissolved in saline. Volume injected into eachmice was between 0.2 to 0.3 ml. At 0, 5, 15, 30 min, and 1, 2, 4, 8, 16,24, 48 h postinjection, animals were sacrificed and blood samples werecollected (4-5 mice per time point). Total radioactivity in plasma wasmeasured by liquid scintillation counting (Beckman Model LS 6500,Fullerton, Calif.) using 10 μl aliquots of plasma. Up to 200 μl plasmawas extracted with 3 volume of ethyl acetate according to Longnecker etal. (1987). The extraction efficiency for paclitaxel was 80%. Thesamples were centrifuged for 5 min at 2500 rpm, and the supernatant wasseparated and brought to dryness. The dried extract was reconstitutedwith 195 μl of HPLC mobile phase, mixed with 5 μl of cold paclitaxel(0.2 mg/ml), and 100 μl was injected onto the HPLC for determination offree paclitaxel radioactivity. Pharmacokinetic parameters were analyzedby a noncompartmental model using the WinNonlin software package. Eachdata point generated was the mean value of 4-5 mice.

The clearance of both drugs from plasma is shown in FIG. 11. Whilepaclitaxel has an extremely short half life in plasma of mice (t_(½), 29min), the apparent half life of PG-TXL is prolonged (t_(½), 317 min).Slower clearance of PG-TXL from the blood was a design feature of thepolymer-drug conjugate with the goal of improving tumor uptake.Surprisingly, the rate of conversion of PG-TXL to paclitaxel in plasmais slow with less than 0.1% of the radioactivity from PG-[³H]TXL beingrecovered as [³H]paclitaxel within 144 h after drug injection (FIG. 11).

In a separate study, mice bearing OCA-1 tumors were prepared asdescribed previously. When the tumor reached 500 mm³, animals wereinjected with a dose of 20 mg equivalent paclitaxel/kg of [³H]paclitaxelor PG-[³H]TXL into the tail vein. Animals were killed at 2, 5, 9, 24,48, and 144 h postinjection. Tumors were removed, weighed, andhomogenized with 3 volume of PBS (w/v). Percent of injected dose pergram tissue is calculated based on total radioactivity associated withthe tumor, which was determined by counting prepared tissue homogenatealiquots. An aliquot of tissue homogenate was mixed with tissuesolubilizer, followed by addition of scintillation solvent, and countedfor total radioactivity. The counting efficiency was verified by themethod of standard addition. Alternatively, aliquots of tissuehomogenates were extracted with ethyl acetate and analyzed for freepaclitaxel by HPLC. The HPLC system consisted of a 150×3.9 mm Nova-Pakcolumn (Waters, Milford, MA), a liquid chromatography pump (Waters model510), a UV/Vis detector set at 228 nm (Waters model 486), a flowscintillation analyzer (Packard model 500TR, Downers Grove, Ill.), and aPackard radiomatic software for data analysis. The eluting solvent(methanol:watter=2:1) was run at 1.0 ml/min. The uptake of total drugsin OCA-1 tumor was expressed as a percentage of the administered doseper gram of tissue and the association of radioactivity within OCA-1tumor as free paclitaxel was expressed as dpm per gram tissue.

Quantitative assessment of tumor uptake in C3Hf/Kam mice showed thatrelatively high levels of radioactivity from radiolabeled PG-TXL appearin tumor tissue shortly after injection (FIG. 12A) as compared toradiolabeled paclitaxel. However, only small amounts of radioactivitywithin tumor tissue are due to the release of free paclitaxel (FIG.12B). Data are presented in FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B as mean±SD from 3 miceper time point. The percent of radioactivity within tumor tissue due topaclitaxel does not appreciably increase with time suggesting thatPG-TXL is not simply a prodrug for the gradual release of paclitaxel.

In contrast to paclitaxel, in vitro studies with PG-TXL whether preparedas a fresh solution or even after “aging” in buffer have clearly shownthat the complex is not a potent cytotoxic species. It neither stronglysupports tubulin polymerization nor the growth and survival of apaclitaxel-dependent CHO cell line. Furthermore, data obtained frompharmacokinetic studies indicate that both the extent and rate ofrelease of paclitaxel in plasma is very low (less than 0.1% in 144 h).While the uptake of PG-TXL material was some 5-fold greater than thatachieved by paclitaxel when using equivalent antitumor doses, thatmaterial which gains entry into tissues exists in the tissue mainly inform(s) which have been shown not to be free paclitaxel.

EXAMPLE 6 Effect of Polymer Structure on Activity of Water solublepolyamino Acid-paclitaxel Conjugates

The present study evaluated whether antitumor activities ofpolymer-paclitaxel conjugates were affected by the structure ofpolyamino acids used for drug conjugation. Paclitaxel was coupled topoly(l-glutamic acid), poly(d-glutamic acid), and poly(l-aspartic acid)according to previously described procedures. These polyaminoacid-paclitaxel conjugates had similar paclitaxel content, aqueoussolubility, and molecular weight (30-40K). In C3Hf/Kam mice bearingmurine OCA-1 ovarian cancer (500 mm³ at time of treatment), a singlei.v. injection of poly(l-glutamic acid)-paclitaxel at 80 mg equiv.paclitaxel/kg body weight produced a tumor growth delay of 21 days vs.saline treated controls. Poly(d-glutamic acid)-paclitaxel was aseffective as poly(l-glutamic acid)-paclitaxel. However, paclitaxelconjugated with poly(l-aspartic acid) was completely inactive againstOCA-1 tumor. In a separate study, the antitumor activity ofpolymer-paclitaxel conjugates of different molecular weight (1K, 13K,and 36K) was compared. Conjugates of lower molecular weight weresignificantly less effective than conjugate of higher molecular weight.The higher molecular weights above 50,000 was too viscous.

EXAMPLE 7 Poly-glutamic Acid-Paclitaxel (PG-TXL) Induces less ApoptosisCompared to Paclitaxel

To assess the mechanism of PG-TXL associated antitumor activity,histological sections of OCA-1 tumors excised from paclitaxel and PG-TXLtreated mice were examined. OCA-1 tumor bearing mice were prepared aspreviously described. When tumor volume reached 500 mm³, animals wereinjected with either paclitaxel (80 mg/kg) or PG-TXL (160 mg equivalentpaclitaxel/kg). At different times ranging from 0 to 144 h aftertreatment, tumors were histologically analyzed to quantify mitotic andapoptotic activity according to Milas et al. (1995). The mice werekilled by cervical dislocation and the tumors were immediately excisedand placed in neutral-buffered formalin. The tissues were then processedand stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Both mitosis and apoptosis werescored in coded slides by microscopic examination at 400× magnification.Five fields of nonnecrotic areas were randomly selected in eachhistological specimen, and in each field the number of apoptotic nucleiand cells in mitosis were recorded as numbers per 100 nuclei and wereexpressed as a percentage. The values were based on scoring 1500 nucleiobtained from 3 mice per time point.

The changes observed in the paclitaxel-treated mice were qualitativelysimilar to those previously described (Milas et al., 1995). The tumorcells showed marked nuclear fragmentation with formation of apoptoticbodies, which was especially marked on day 1 (FIG. 13). Viable tumorcell clumps with normal mitoses were still present in these tumors by144 h, indicating that these tumors would eventually regrow. Treatmentwith PG-TXL only resulted in a mild increase in mitotically arrestedcells and apoptotic cells, presumably due to the small amount of freepaclitaxel released from PG-TXL (FIG. 13). By 96 h, tumors fromPG-TXL-treated mice developed extensive edema and necrosis, and only asmall rim of viable tumor cells remained. By 144 h, the residual tumorclumps as compared to controls were comprised of cells that were larger,more pleomorphic, and that displayed less mitotic activity.

These data suggest that the water-soluble PG-TXL conjugate of thepresent disclosure has superior antitumor efficacy with reduced toxicityas compared to conventional free paclitaxel preparations. Althoughoriginally designed as a water-soluble form of paclitaxel, it is nowclear that the agent used to solubilize paclitaxel, contributes to theoverall anti-tumor activity of this remarkable new complex. These dataindicate that PG-TXL has an ability to produce cell death in a mannerwhich is separate from and in addition to the apoptosis produced byreleased free paclitaxel.

EXAMPLE 8 Synthesis of Poly-Glutamic Acid-Camptothecin (PG-CPT)Conjugate

The synthesis of PG-CPT followed a similar reaction as previouslydescribed for the synthesis of PG-TXL. Into 80 mg of PG polymer in 2.5ml dry DMF was added 20 mg CPT (Hande Tech.), 34 mg DCC, and traceamount of DMAP as catalyst. After stirred at room temperature overnight,the reaction mixture was poured into chloroform, and the precipitatecollected. The dried precipitate was redissoved in sodium carbonatesolution, dialyzed against 0.05 M phosphate buffer (pH4.5), filtered,and lyophilized. The content of CPT in the polymer conjugate wasdetermined by fluorescence spectrometer (Perkin-Elmer Model MPF-44A)using emission wavelength of 430 nm and excitation wavelength of 370 nm.Content: 2% to 5% (w/w), solubility: >200 mg conjugate/ml.

EXAMPLE 9 Synthesis of Poly-Lysine (PL) TXL Conjugate (PL-TXL)

All accessible amine functional groups of poly-lysine (MW>30,000, Sigma)will be converted to carboxylic acid functional groups by reactingpoly-lysine with succinic anhydride, glutaric anhydride, or DTPA. Theremaining unreacted NH2 group in poly-lysine will be blocked by reactingthe modified polymer with acetic anhydride. TXL, docetaxel, othertaxiods, etopside, teniposide, camptothecin, epothilone or otheranti-tumor drugs will be conjugated to the resulting polymer accordingto previously described procedures for the synthesis of PG-TXL.

EXAMPLE 10 Synthesis of Other Polyamino Acids to be Used to ConjugateTXL

Polyamino acid copolymers containing glutamic acid may be synthesized bythe copolymerization of N-carboxyanhydrides (NCAs) of correspondingamino acid with gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate NCA. The resulting benzylglutamate-containing copolymer will be converted to glutamicacid-containing copolymer by removing the benzyl protecting group (FIG.15). TXL, docetaxel, other taxiods, etopside, teniposide, camptothecin,epothilone or other anti-tumor drugs will be conjugated to the resultingpolymer according to previously described procedures for the synthesisof PG-TXL and PG-CPT.

EXAMPLE 11 Use of PG-TXL in Humans

Introduction

Poly-L-glutamic acid-Paclitaxel (PG-TXL) is a conjugate ofpoly-L-glutamic acid and paclitaxel. This compound is water soluble andbased on early animal studies it appears that it can be administered asa short, that is several minute, intravenous injection. Based on the invitro and early animal work, it appears that this compound is at leastas active against cancer as the monomeric paclitaxel in Cremophor andmay have fewer side effects. Based on these observations, this drug willbe studied in humans. The study will first require formulation of thiscompound in a solvent which is commonly used for intravenous infusion.The inventors expect that either normal saline, 5% dextrose in water orsterile water will be used as the solvent. This formulation of PG-TXLwill then be administered to at least two species of test animals suchas rats and dogs to determine the toxicities of the drug in thoseanimals and to determine a dose of the drug which then can serve as thelowest starting dose for a Phase I human study. That Phase I human studywill define a dose of PG-TXL which may be used in subsequent Phase IIstudies in patients. Phase II studies will be performed in several tumortypes to determine the activity of PG-TXL in various cancers. One ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that modifications inadministration, selection of animal models and dose regiments may bemade in the methods disclosed in following example, and suchmodifications are encompassed by the invention.

Animal Studies

These studies will be performed in rats and Beagle dogs withapproximately 3 animals studied at each dose level of the drug. Thelevels will be increased until life threatening toxicity is noted. Theanimals will undergo blood testing as well as necropsy to determine theorgan systems which are susceptible to this drug's toxicity andtherefore to expect the side effects in human studies. Once the dose isdetermined which causes the death of 10% of animals then the equivalentof one-tenth of that dose will be recommended as the starting dose forhuman studies. This is the usual recommendation by the Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) as the initial dose for human Phase I studies.

Phase I Studies

Phase I study of this drug will be performed using the starting dosedefined in animal studies. The drug will be injected into the vein by asyringe over several min or alternatively it may be infused as a shortinfusion, up to approximately 10 to 15 min. The volume of the solventwill be from 10 ml to approximately 100 ml depending on which of the twointravenous injection approaches are used. The drug will be administeredevery 3 wk. This schedule is based on the early animal studies and onthe schema used with paclitaxel in Cremophor. Three patients will bestarted on the lowest dose level as defined by the animal studies andwill be treated with an injection of PG-TXL. Blood tests will beperformed at baseline and weekly to evaluate blood counts; tests ofliver function and renal function will be performed every 3 wk. It isexpected that the counts and physiological parameters will recoversufficiently from the PG-TXL to resume the next cycle of treatment 3 wkafter the previous one. If this is the case then the treatment will berepeated every 3 wk. If the first cohort of three patients tolerates thedrug for 3 wk then these patients will be allowed to have the doseincreased by a predetermined schema that is usually used in the Phase Istudies. Once three patients have tolerated the first cycle, the nextcohort of 3 patients will be started on the next higher dose level. Thisprocess of increasing the dose level will continue until at least 2 outof 3 patients at a dose level have side effects which are so severe thatthey prohibit continuing administration of the drug. In such acircumstance the dose level just prior to the excessively toxic one willbe considered the level of drug to be administered in subsequentstudies. Six to ten patients shall be treated on the dose level whichwill be recommended for Phase II studies to confirm its tolerability.Once the appropriate dose has been defined and acute toxic side effectsof the drug evaluated, Phase II studies will be initiated.

Phase II Studies

Phase II studies of PG-TXL will be performed in several tumor types.Each study will be designed in a usual standard Phase II mannerfollowing either Gahan's or Simon's design. In brief, approximately 14patients of a given tumor type will be treated initially, if there is noevidence of anti-cancer activity in that tumor type then further studiesof PG-TXL in that tumor type will be aborted. However, if at least onepatient has clinical benefit, defined as at least 50% decrease in thesum of products of perpendicular cross-sectional diameters of thetumors, then the number of patients with that tumor type treated withPG-TXL will be increased to 30. These studies will allow us to definethe activity of PG-TXL in various cancers and refine the information onthe side effects of the drug. The tumor types of special interest forPG-TXL will be the ones which have shown good response to paclitaxel anddocetaxel. This will include ovarian cancer, breast cancer, and lungcancer. Studies comparing poly-glutamic acid-paclitaxel to paclitaxel intumors showing response to PG-TXL will be performed. Such studies arecalled Phase III studies.

Phase III Studies of PG Paclitaxel

Based on the activity of paclitaxel in ovarian cancer, breast cancer,and lung cancer these will be the tumor types in which PG-TXL will becompared to paclitaxel. In view of the necessity to have a large numberof patients in such randomized studies, the inventors expect that amulti-institutional study will be necessary. The inventors have in theirinstitution access to Cooperative Community Oncology Program (CDDP) andto many other multi-institutional study groups. In addition to thepotential clinical benefit of PG-TXL vs. paclitaxel, it would beappropriate to evaluate the economic impact of the two drugs. It isexpected that a short term infusion of PG-TXL may result in a lesscostly treatment. And, therefore, there is an expectation that PG-TXLmay be cost effective relative to paclitaxel monotherapy. Not only isthe infusion going to be shorter, it is expected that in view of theabsence of Cremophor fewer side effects will be experienced by thepatients and therefore the premedication regiment including steroids andintravenous H2 and H1 blockers may no longer be necessary. All of thesefactors will result in a reduction in the cost of the treatment.

Summary

It is expected that the initial animal toxicology evaluation willrequire up to 6 months. Subsequent to that, if a drug formulation isavailable, human Phase I studies may be completed in another 6 to 9months. Once these have been completed, Phase II studies in varioustumor types may take another 6 to 9 months. At that point, the inventorswill have a good idea of the efficacy of this drug and targeted PhaseIII studies may be designed and initiated. It is also possible that thePhase II studies will show enough clinical activity that abbreviatedPhase III studies or no Phase III studies would be necessary.

While the compositions and methods of this invention have been describedin terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skillin the art that variations may be applied to the compositions, methodsand in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the methods describedherein without departing from the concept, spirit and scope of theinvention. More specifically, it will be apparent that certain agentswhich are both chemically and physiologically related may be substitutedfor the agents described herein while the same or similar results wouldbe achieved. All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent tothose skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope andconcept of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

REFERENCES

The following references, to the extent that they provide exemplaryprocedural or other details supplementary to those set forth herein, arespecifically incorporated herein by reference.

Bartoni and Boitard. “In vitro and in vivo antitumoral activity of free,and encapsulated taxol,” J. Microencapsulation, 7:191-197, 1990.

Berstein, et al., “Higher antitumor efficacy of daunomycin when linkedto dextran: In vitro and in vivo studies,” J. Natl. Cancer Inst.,60:379-384, 1978.

Boyle, et al., “Prevention of taxol induced neuropathy by glutamate,”Cancer Res., 37:290, 1996.

Cabral and Barlow, “Resistance to antimitotic agents as genetic probesof microtubule structure and function,” Pharmac. Ther., 52:159-171,1991.

Cabral, Wible, Brenner, Brinkley, “Taxol-requiring mutant of Chinesehamster ovary cells with impaired mitotic spindle assembly,” J CellBiol., 97:30-39, 1983.

Cortes, J. E. and Pazdur, R., “Docetaxel”, Journal of Clinical Oncology13:2643-2655, 1995.

Deutsch et al., “Synthesis of congeners and prodrugs. 3. Water-solubleprodrugs of paclitaxel with potent antitumor activity,” J. Med Chem.,32:788-792, 1989.

Duncan, et al., “Anticancer agents coupled toN-(2hydroxypropyl)methacryamide copolymers. 3. Evaluation of adriamycinconjugates against mouse leukemia L1210 in vivo,” J. Controlled Rel.,10:51-63, 1989.

Eiseman et al., “Plasma pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution ofpaclitaxel in CD2F1 mice,” Cancer Chemother. Pharmacol., 34:465-471,1994.

Fidler, Gersten, Hart, “The biology of cancer invasion and metastasis,”Adv. Cancer Res., 28:149-250, 1987.

Foa, Norton, Seidman, “Taxol (paclitaxel): a novel anti-microtubuleagent with remarkable anti-neoplastic activity,” Int. J Clin. Lab. Res.,24:6-14, 1994.

Goldspiel, “Taxol pharmaceutical issues: preparation, administration,stability, and compatibility with other medications,” Ann.Pharmacotherapy, 28:S23-26, 1994.

Greenwald et al., “Highly water soluble taxol derivative:2′-polyethylene glycol esters as potential products”, Bioorganic &Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 4:2465-2470, 1994.

Greenwald et al., “Highly water soluble Taxol derivatives,7-polyethylene glycol esters as potential products,” J. Org. Chem.,60:331-336, 1995.

Greenwald, et al., “Drug delivery systems: Water soluble taxol2′-poly(ethylene glycol) ester prodrugs-design and in vivoeffectiveness,” J. Med. Chem., 39:424-431, 1996.

Hirano et al., “Polymeric derivatives of activated cyclophosphamide asdrug delivery systems in antitumor therapy”, Macromol. Chem.,180:1125-1130, 1979.

Hoes et al., “Optimization of macromolecular prodrugs of the antitumorantibiotic adriamycin”, J. Controlled Release, 2:205-213, 1985.

Holmes, Kudelka, Kavanagh, Huber, Ajani, Valero, “Current status ofclinical trials with paclitaxel and docetaxel,” In: Taxane AnticancerAgents: Basic Science and Current Status, Georg, Chen, Ojima, Vyas,eds., American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C., 31-57, 1995.

Horwitz et al., “Taxol, mechanisms of action and resistance,” J. Natl.Cancer Inst. Monographs No. 15, pp. 55-61, 1993.

Kato, et al, “Antitumor activity of 1-barabinofuranosylcytosineconjugated with polyglutamic acid and its derivative,” Cancer Res.,44:25-30, 1984.

Kopecek and Kopeckova, “Targetable water-soluble polymeric anticancerdrugs: achievements and unsolved problems,” Proceed Intern Symp.Control. Rel. Bioact. Mater., 20:190-191, 1993.

Kopecek, “The potential of water-soluble polymeric carriers in targetedand site-specific drug delivery”, J. Controlled Release, 11:279-290,1990.

Li, et al., “Synthesis and evaluation of water-soluble polyethyleneglycol paclitaxel conjugate as a paclitaxel prodrug,” Anti-Cancer Drugs,7:642-648, 1996.

Liu, et al., “Evidence for involvement of tyrosine phosphorylation intaxol-induced apoptosis in a human ovarian tumor cell line,” Biochem.Pharmacol, 48:1265-1272, 1994.

Longnecker, et al., “High performance liquid chromatographic assay forTaxol in human plasma and urine and pharmacokinetics in a phase Itrial,” Cancer Treat. Rep., 71:53-59, 1987.

Maeda and Matsumura, “Tumoritropic and lymphotropic principles ofmacromolecular drugs”, Critical Review in Therapeutic Drug CarrierSystems, 6:193-210, 1989.

Maeda, “SMANCS and polymer-conjugated macromolecular drugs: advantagesin cancer chemotherapy,” Adv. Drug Delivery Rev., 6:181-193, 1991.

Maeda, Seymour, Miyamoto, “Conjugates of anticancer agents and polymers:Advantages of macromolecular therapeutics in vivo,” Bioconjug. Chem.,3:351-362, 1992.

Magri and Kingston, “Modified taxols. 2. Oxidation products of taxol,”J. Org. Chem., 51:797-802, 1986.

Mathew et al., “Synthesis and evaluation of some water-soluble prodrugsand derivatives of taxol with antitumor activity,” J. Med. Chem.,35:145-151, 1992.

Milas, et al., “Kinetics of mitotic arrest and apoptosis in murinemammary and ovarian tumors treated with taxol,” Proc. Am. Assoc. CancerChemother. Pharmacol., 35:297-303, 1995.

Mosmann, T., “Rapid colormetric assay for cellular growth and survival:application to proliferation and cytotoxic assay,” J. Immunol. Methods,65:55-63, 1983.

Nicolaou, Riemer, Kerr, Rideout, Wrasidio, “Design, synthesis andbiological activity of protaxols,” Nature, 364:464-466, 1993.

Oliver, S. J. et al, Suppression of collagen-induced arthritis using anangiogenesis inhibitor, AGM-1470, and a microtubule stabilizer, Taxol.”Cellular Immunology 157:291-299, 1994.

Phillips-Hughes and Kandarpa, “Restenosis: pathophysiology andpreventive strategies,” JVIR 7:321-333, 1996.

Reynolds, T., “Polymers help guide cancer drugs to tumor targets—andkeep them there,” J. Natl. Cancer Institute, 87:1582-1584, 1995.

Rose, et al., “Preclinical antitumor activity of water-solublepaclitaxel derivatives,” Cancer Chemother. Pharmacol., 39:486-492, 1997.

Rowinsky and Donehower, “Review: Paclitaxel (Taxol),” N. Engl. J. Med.,332:1004-1014, 1995.

Rowinsky, Chaudhry, Cornblath, Donehower, “Phase I and pharmacologicstudy of paclitaxel and cisplatin with granulocyte colony-stimulatingfactor: neuromuscular toxicity is dose-limiting,” J. Clin. Oncol.,11:2010-2020, 1993.

Scudiero et al. “Evaluation of a Soluble Tetrazolium/Formazan Assay forCell Growth and Drug Sensitivity in Culture Using Human and Other TumorCell Lines,” Cancer Research, 48:4827-4833, 1988.

Serruys, De Jaegere, Kiemeneij et al., “A comparison ofballoon-expandable-stent implantation with balloon angioplasty inpatients with coronary artery disease,” N. Eng. J. Med., 331:489-495,1994.

Sharma and Straubinger, “Novel taxol formulations: Preparation andCharacterization of taxol-containing liposomes,” Pharm. Res. 11:889-896,1994.

Trouet, et al., “A covalent linkage between daunorubicin and proteinsthat is stable in serum and reversible by lysosomal hydrolases, asrequired for a lysosomotropic drug-carrier conjugate: In vitro and invivo studies,” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 79:626-629, 1982.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,583,153

U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,831

van Heeswijk et al., “The synthesis and characterization ofpolypeptide-adriamycin conjugate and its complexes with adriamycin. Part1”, J. Controlled Release, 1:301-315, 1985.

Vyas et al., “Phosphatase-activated prodrugs of paclitaxel,” In: TaxaneAnticancer Agents: Basic Science and Current Status, Georg, Chen, Ojima,Vyas, eds., American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C., 124-137, 1995.

Weiss et al., “Hypersensitivity reactions from Taxol,” J. Clin. Oncol.,8:1263-1268, 1990.

Zhao, Z. and Kingston, D. G. I., “Modified taxols. 6. Preparation ofwater-soluble taxol phosphates,” J. Nat. Prod., 54:1607-1611, 1991.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of treating cancer in a subjectcomprising the steps of: (a) providing a composition comprisingpaclitaxel or docetaxel conjugated to a water soluble polyamino acidspolymer having a molecular weight of at least about 5,000 D anddispersed in a pharmaceutically acceptable solution; (b) administeringsaid solution to said subject in an amount effective to treat saidcancer.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said cancer is breast cancer,ovarian cancer, malignant melanoma, lung cancer, gastric cancer,prostate cancer, colon cancer, head and neck cancer, leukemia, orKaposi's Sarcoma.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said cancer isbreast cancer.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein said cancer is ovariancancer.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein said cancer is malignantmelanoma.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein said cancer is lung cancer.7. The method of claim 2, wherein said cancer is gastric cancer.
 8. Themethod of claim 2, wherein said cancer is prostate cancer.
 9. The methodof claim 2, wherein said cancer is colon cancer.
 10. The method of claim2, wherein said cancer is head and neck cancer.
 11. The method of claim2, wherein said cancer is leukemia.
 12. The method of claim 2, whereinsaid cancer is Kaposi's Sarcoma.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein saidcomposition comprises paclitaxel or docetaxel conjugated topoly-glutamic acids, poly-aspartic acids or poly-lysines.
 14. The methodof claim 13, wherein said paclitaxel or docetaxel is conjugated topoly-glutamic acids.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein saidcomposition comprises paclitaxel conjugated to poly-glutamic acids. 16.The method of claim 14, wherein said composition comprises docetaxelconjugated to poly-glutamic acids.
 17. The method of claim 14, whereinsaid paclitaxel or docetaxel is conjugated to said poly-glutamic acidsthrough a 2′OH group.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein saidpoly-glutamic acids have a molecular weight of about 25kDa to about 50kdas determined by viscosity.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein saidcomposition comprises from 5 to 75 molecules of paclitaxel or docetaxelper poly-glutamic acids molecule.
 20. The method of claim 19, whereinsaid composition is administered in combination with other antitumordrugs or in combination with external or internal irradiation.
 21. Amethod for targeting a chemotherapeutic agent into a tumor from thevasculature of a patient which method comprises: (A) selecting achemotherapeutic agent selected from the group consisting of paclitaxel,docetaxel, etoposide, teniposide, camptothecin and epothilone that iscovalently conjugated to a polyglutamic acid polymer, wherein saidpolymer has a molecular weight of at least 30,000 D; (B) introducingsaid covalently-conjugated chemotherapeutic agent conjugate to thesystemic circulation of a patient with a tumor such that the polymertherapeutic agent conjugate selectively diffuses into the tumor of saidpatient.
 22. The method according to claim 21 wherein thechemotherapeutic agent is directly conjugated to the polyglutamic acid.23. A method for treating a patient having a tumor which methodcomprises: (a) selecting a chemotherapeutic agent from the groupconsisting of paclitaxel, docetaxel, etoposide, teniposide, camptothecinand epothilone; (b) covalently conjugating said agent to a polyglutamicacid polymer wherein said polymer has a molecular weight of at leastabout 5,000 D and wherein said conjugate is characterized by a longercirculating half-life in the systemic circulation than the unconjugatedagent and the ability to accumulate in the tumor in an amount that iseffective for treating the tumor; (c) introducing said conjugate intothe systemic circulation of said patient such that the conjugatediffuses into the tumor of said patient to so treat the tumor.
 24. Themethod according to claim 23 wherein said covalent conjugating of thechemotherapeutic agent to the polymer provides for a conjugate which issufficiently stable in vivo to permit accumulation of a therapeuticallyeffective amount of the conjugate in the tumor.
 25. The method accordingto claim 23 wherein said conjugate comprises at least threechemotherapeutic agents per polymer molecule.